14 DAY TRIAL // Windows Live Messenger has over 300 million users, but not all of them are able to stay signed in at all times, mainly because there aren’t enough clients out there to provide support for the various platforms they might be using. However, that is about to change, since the Redmond-based software giant has decided it was high time it exposed the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP), an open standard for real-time communication, to its Messenger.
Microsoft has just announced that the release of the XMPP interface for Messenger offers the possibility to a new range of clients to connect to Windows Live Messenger.
To be more precise, the company confirmed that any XMPP based chat client that has been packed with support for OAuth 2.0 for authentication will be able to connect to the Messenger.
The move comes as part for Microsoft’s commitment to offering people the possibility to access Windows Live Messenger from all of their devices, and is expected to result in the availability of XMPP based chat clients that will do exactly that.
At the moment, the company offers support for the following XMPP specifications:
RFC6120: XMPP: Core RFC6121: XMPP: Instant Messaging and Presence. Roster management is not supported. XEP-0054: vcard-temp. The Messenger XMPP service supports fetching vCards, but doesn't support updating vCards. XEP-0085: Chat State Notifications XEP-0203: Delayed Delivery
Developers interested in the XMPP implementation should head over to GitHub to access a series of code samples that Microsoft made available for them. They will also find documentation on the matter in the Live Connect developer center.
“These should give you enough information to get started building integration with the Messenger network into your mobile apps, devices and web sites,” Dare Obasanjo, Lead Program Manager, Live Connect Platform, explains.
There are universally available protocols that enable developers access all of Microsoft’s major services, including OAuth 2.0 for Live ID, a REST API for SkyDrive, Exchange Active Sync for Hotmail, and XMPP for Messenger.
“Thanks to these protocols there is universal access to SkyDrive, Hotmail and Messenger either using Microsoft-authored applications on mobile platforms like Windows Phone and iOS or using applications written by other developers such as HandyScan on Windows Phone and Hotmail for Android by Seven,” Obasanjo notes.