I have a social network site similar in design to a myspace/facebook type community, I am using php/mysql on a LAMP setup.
I have always wanted to possibly have my own instant messenger that would go on a user's PC similar to AIM that would work
with my site, meanning a buddylist in the program would consist of users on my site and also to show a users image next to
the name and a link to there profile on my site.
Now I know this is possible but what would make me not want to do it is the server resources it would take. So I am asking,
if you were to do this, how would you go about it?
What language would you make the .exe program in?
Is there someway to make a user connect to another user so that each message between them is not hitting my mysql DB?
Any tips/advice/suggestions welcome
I recommend that you use XMPP, the core protocol for Jabber.
It is a protocol that many websites use such as Google Talk.
You will need a database if you want to keep logs obviously. If it is purely real-time, then you may not need to store messages through the database.
If you simply want an ajax chat feature on your website, you should just search online as there are a ton of them. If you simply want an all purpose chat server, just use a Jabber or IRC.