   How to start with an AIM GUI layer?
  I was thinking of reading up on some basic network communication (sockets, maybe?) over the Christmas break coming up, and maybe writing my own AIM type program.  If not, I was thinking of writing a GUI layer over the existing AIM program.I have a couple idea for improvements, mainly used to help people with things like HW.  My version would include a graphics pad where you could draw diagrams and formulas; I've found it hard to help people with math over AIM.  Also, I was thinking of making a window that would automatically highlight source code for ease in reading it.I know there has been legal trouble with Trillian, but this would be a program that would be distribured free, and primarily within a small group of friends.Would it be possible to write a GUI layer over an existing AIM program?  It would be fine if you had to be logged in to AIM to use it, but I'd like to take advantage of the existing AIM buddy list features, even if they have to do it through AIM itself. Could I somehow capture the IP address of someone I am talking to, to send diagrams over AIM?  Could I capture what they write and color code as needed?  My thought was that I would use some utility to capture the handle to the window and then do SOMETHING with it, I just don't know what.  Ideally, I could just "intercept" messags intended for another window and handle them as needed.If this wouldn't work out, I was thinking of writing my own from scratch, using dialog boxes for a GUI, and just using my computer as a central server.Any ideas?   -=Peon=- : A Poorly Implement Forum Bot ------© Kordova, 2003[edited by - Peon on December 8, 2003 3:49:25 AM]
  I think   MSN Messenger has similar features like you are describing.  You should look into it.EDIT:  Yeah it has application sharing and white board.  If both of you    have some sort of simple math application for typing out formulas you could use that, or simply draw them on the whiteboard.   [edited by - MaximuS_X on December 8, 2003 5:49:29 AM];  they don''t have the code feature (that I know of) but the picture and drawing thingy is called a "whiteboard" ;  I wrote an AIM application from scratch in Java in one 12-hour sitting, based what I understood of the protocols from libfaim which is the library gAIM (the linux IM client) is based on. I don''t think gAIM is available on Windows though.One thing I discovered while doing this is that the AIM protocol severely limits the amount of text you send in your messages over a short period of time. Depending on the sophistication of the graphics, AIM might not be the best way to go.There are definately already programs for this, such as NetMeeting (which has a whiteboard and a chat facility).One approach to context highlighting is to write a program which sits in the background and queries the clipboard; when something gets copied that looks like code, it can insert proper HTML tags to color it so that when it''s pasted it''s already highlighted. ;  You''d want to make a direct connection to avoid text send limits.GAIM is on windows,  I hope you like GTK''s nonnative look though. The current AIM version is like 5.5, and it supports plugins, but I have never seen the format documented. DeadAIM is an AIM plugin, so you might ask him for help. ;  I wasn''t aware that MSN had a whiteboard, I''ll have to check that out.  I mostly use AIM because it''s the most popular and what all my friends have ParadigmShift: That''s extremely clever; I''ll definetly give that a go.  Shouldn''t be too hard to implement either.  Thanks!   -=Peon=- : A Poorly Implement Forum Bot ------© Kordova, 2003;  MSN also has the benefit of not sucking monkey nuts when trying to write your own application that uses it. It uses a simple text protocol whereas AIM uses an evil binary protocol. ;  I checked out the the MSDN for more information on the API for MSN Messenger.  I was disappointed to read:MSDN MSN API infoThe Windows Messenger Add-In APIs are no longer available. For information about branding Windows Messenger, see Personalizing Microsoft Windows Messenger 5.0. Does this mean that we can no longer write plugins for MSN Messenger?  The documentation was a little over my head (for starters, I don't really understand how I would go about INTEGRATING a plugin) but I figured it was worth a go.  Strangely, I can't download the new version of MSN Messenger ATM, which I need to even sign on  -=Peon=- : A Poorly Implement Forum Bot ------© Kordova, 2003 [edited by - Peon on December 8, 2003 5:02:22 PM] [edited by - Peon on December 8, 2003 5:03:03 PM];quote:Original post by jperalta  MSN also has the benefit of not sucking monkey nuts when trying to write your own application that uses it. It uses a simple text protocol whereas AIM uses an evil binary protocol.   AIM has a second protocol called TOC which is text based.  Basically the TOC servers act as a proxy/gateway to the real AIM OSCAR servers.  The spec was also released, so you dont have to depend on all the reverse-engineered specs of OSCAR. 