It was first introduced in 1999, and in the two decades that followed, has gained wide adoption. It is a set of open technologies meant for instant messaging (IM), multi-party chat, voice and video calls, contact list maintenance, collaboration, content syndication, and user presence information, based on XML ( Extensible Markup Language). XMPP stands for Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol, originally named Jabber. The growth of instant messaging in different platforms meant smooth relay of data and a requirement for lower latency. Over the last few decades, the technology behind instant messaging protocols has evolved a lot, and it is important for developers to understand the pros and cons of all available options today. XMPP and IRC protocols are two of the most popular instant messaging protocols that are most commonly used, and it is worthwhile to understand how they work and to implement instant messaging on a platform.

Web protocols play an integral role in instant messaging.

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