Mark Murphy is right to insist that it’s still possible to use XMPP with Android using an external library. The Android SDK being not XMPP compliant doesn’t disallow to run an app including another XMPP library. But it might be more difficult to interact with the GUI part of the Android API or to make it behave like a native-like app, for example (Please correct me if I’m wrong).

@ Ignace.

AFAIK, the IMPS (Wireless Village protocol) is a polling-protocol and very few used.

Ideally, XMPP should replace IMPS and perhaps SIP for IMS.

I think everyone seems to forget that SIP and IMS jsrs are optional both in Android and SymbianOS. While Google did have SIP in the Nov 2007 SDK that is no longer the case.

Certainly a SIP or IMS jsr has to be in firmware to enable such apps despite ignorant non mobile developer claims to the contrary. My reasoning is that the hardw

As far as the XMPP part of this drama is concerned, it become obsolete by using almost any of XMPP Java implementations and doing some patching. For example, Smack API (http://www.igniterealtime.org/projects/smack/index.jsp) is one such library and here’s (http://davanum.wordpress.com/2007/12/31/android-just-use-smack-api-for-xmpp/) how to patch and use it.

Relax, it’s a blog. Go outside.

Android *never* had an XMPP *app* on the phone.

What Android did have, and what the post you linked to documented, is that Android once had an XMPP *library* on the phone, and pulled the library out of the firmware.

Developers *always* had to write their own XMPP application to have something a user could use. Now, they have to provide their own XMPP library to go with their code, whereas before they only needed their code. That’s a hassle, but no more than the hassle of supporting email or any other protocol not supplied by the firmware.

“we all know how much carriers love apps right?”

There are thousands upon thousands of apps for Windows Mobile, Symbian, etc. I have no idea if the carriers love them or not.

You *still* have not corrected, retracted, or updated the incorrect statement that “all real-time communication on Android not using SMS or HTTP must pass through the Gtalk servers.” Nor have you supplied proof of this statement. Heck, the one issue you linked to provides documentation to the contrary, describing how one ADC team got XMPP to work despite it not being in the firmware. You might as well be saying that all real-time communications on Windows not using SMS or HTTP go through Microsoft’s servers — you have just as much proof, and the statement would be just as faulty.

“Mark also with your argument, anything is possible therefor nothing is impossible therefor there is nothing wrong with anything, ever – its all up to us!”

Spelling and grammar aside…that’s what programming is all about. You might try it sometime.

As far as XMPP drama is concerned, it become obsolete by using almost any of XMPP Java implementations and doing some patching. For example, Smack API (http://www.igniterealtime.org/projects/smack/index.jsp) is one such library and here’s (http://davanum.wordpress.com/2007/12/31/android-just-use-smack-api-for-xmpp/) how to patch and use it.

we all know how much carriers love apps right?

I note that you have not retracted the unproven statement in your article, where you said: “This means that all real-time communication on Android not using SMS or HTTP must pass through the Gtalk servers.” If you are going to make such claims, you need to supply the proof. You have proven they pulled an XMPP JAR from the nascent 1.0 distribution, and I’m not disputing that. But that is a far cry from what your above-quoted statement says.

“the difference is that Google went into Android boasting about open protocol support, and they are steadily stripping it back”

Even if this were true, it’s not what you said in your article. And, I reiterate, you have supplied exactly zero proof of what you said in your article — that Android allows no real-time communication (other than SMS/HTTP) except through Google’s servers. And so, I wait for you to supply the proof or correct the article.

“It is right though, the telco’s are just going to rip the whole thing apart anyway and do what they want.”

Ignoring the bad grammar…your proof of this claim is, what, exactly?

The telcos allow arbitrary applications using arbitrary protocols on Windows Mobile and Symbian handsets today — I’ve installed plenty of them. I assume they will for LiMo and OpenMoko, though there aren’t many of those around. With iPhone, the gateway appears to be Apple, not AT&T. Admittedly, I don’t know much about BlackBerry app distribution, so there could be telco-enacted limits there.

@ #7

And your proof of your claims are, what, exactly? See the preceding paragraph of this comment, and get back to us, will ya?

http://mail.jabber.org/pipermail/standards/2008-February/018015.html

It is right though, the telco’s are just going to rip the whole thing apart anyway and do what they want.

There is absolutely NOTHING preventing one from using XMPP on Android. You just have to supply your own JAR, like you do for IMAP, POP3, SMTP, or any other protocol not baked into the Android firmware.

Next you’ll complain that Android doesn’t include a built-in interface to Kenmore dishwashers, or something.

The news on this was that a couple of weeks ago someone commented (on a link you have in your article) that XMPP is back on the roadmap! (See the comment on May 30, 2008 in the Issue 201 link).

The headline suggests that this has just happened (maybe 6 months ago is just happened for you), but it hasn’t.

The general idea about the ideals of Android falling apart is the headline you should have had – XMPP is another (old) piece of evidence of this along with the delays and compromises they are making for Operators.

Please change the headline!