Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) (formerly named Jabber[1]) is an open, XML-based protocol originally aimed at near-real-time, extensible instant messaging (IM) and presence information (e.g., buddy lists), but now expanded into the broader realm of message-oriented middleware.[2] It was developed by the Jabber open-source community in 1999. Built to be extensible, the protocol has been extended with features such as voice over IP and file transfer signaling.<br />
Unlike most instant messaging protocols, XMPP is an open standard. Like e-mail, it is an open system where anyone who has a domain name and a suitable Internet connection can run their own XMPP server and talk to users on other servers. The standard server implementations and many clients are also free and open source software.