Jingle (protocol)


Jingle is an extension to XMPP which adds peer-to-peer session control for multimedia interactions such as in Voice over IP or videoconferencing communications. It was designed by Google and the XMPP Standards Foundation. The multimedia streams are delivered using the Real-time Transport Protocol. If needed, NAT traversal is assisted using Interactive Connectivity Establishment.
, the Jingle specification is a Stable Standard, meaning: " Implementations are encouraged and the protocol is appropriate for deployment in production systems, but some changes to the protocol are possible before it becomes a Final Standard."

Data Flows

When Client CA is communicating with Client CB in a chat they client software on both ends uses the Jingle parts of the XMPP specification to establish if they are both Jingle capable. If they can negotiate a way to talk directly, e.g. over RTP, then they will generally show the user a Telephone or Video icon, enabling them to establish a direct connection to the other client.

Libraries

The libjingle library, used by Google Talk to implement Jingle, has been released to the public under a BSD license. It implements both the current standard protocol and the older, pre-standard version.

Clients supporting Jingle

Though not an instant messaging client, RemoteVNC uses Jingle as one of the screen sharing means.

Technical Details and Further Resources