Chat application AJAX polling

Question

In the project I am currently working on, we have the need to develop a web chat application, not a very complex chat, just a way to connect two people to talk about a very specific topic, we don't need any kind of authentication for one of the two users, we don't have to support emoticons, avatars, or stuff like that.

Some project members suggested that we could use XMPP through BOSH, I said that is like trying to catch a fish with a boat's net, and proposed a simpler method, like a simple Ajax/MySQL web chat, but we're worried about the performance hit in the server because of the constant polling of many chats open at the same time.

Has anyone done something like this before? What would you recommend?

Answer 1

You might also want to look into Comet.

It's used by GTalk, Meebo, and many other chat applications. A few years ago when I was experimenting with it, there weren't very many libraries or details about server architecture to implement it, but it looks like there is a lot more stuff out now.

Have a look at the cometd project for more technical information.

Answer 2

What would you recommend?

XMPP through BOSH

There's no need to invent your own message format and transport protocol when somebody else has. If you try, it'll slowly grow to be just as complex as BOSH but without the benefit of third-party library support or standardization.