OpenSource Free Chat Client and Server for AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime)

With all the hype around Adobe AIR I decided to give it a try once again.

I already wrote two AIR applications for a client in Flex2. It is a pretty neat idea. Basically with the runtime you can build OS independent applications using HTML/AJAX, Flex, Flash or any combination of. Users just have to install the runtime. Once the have done this, they can interact with your application just as they would any other on their system. You can even support drag and drop or system calls.

So I decided to write a Chat client in AIR using only HTML and AJAX.

I figured as a proof of concept I would just crank it out. Worked pretty good. AIR even supports CSS3 so I can get that rounded corner action. It should have only taken me a couple of hrs to complete.. (but my arm is busted so I can only type with one hand.. ;) ). So it took me 2x the normal amount of time even though I am getting pretty fast at this one handed thing.

I am tired and grumpy.

Which is not a good thing to be when you are banging out code. I started the project in Dreamweaver then.. ugh.. after 30 minutes of screwing around with DW’s stupidity, I rm -rf’d the whole deal and started over again. This time I did it my regular way. I built the whole thing in Textmate (the greatest editor known to mankind..) and wrote it all by hand. In less then 10 minutes, I was already farther ahead typing with one hand then I was in 30 in DW.

After Hour 3

Things started to wear on me… the switching back to DW to edit and set the settings, DW telling me that I edited outside…. DW not seeing my files properly.. gah… all this dealing with DW just to get something simple done. I could compile the application by hand, but then that means that I have to build the XML for the build files by hand and as any sane… or happily insane.. software engineer knows… editing XML config files SUCKS.

So.. I finished

… no.. I did not actually finish the project.. I finished with it.. I am done.. DW sucks.. if I decide to build this again, I will do it in Flex Builder, or Dashcode since it will be much more rich. This code is ALPHA quality.. and is there for you to play with if you like. You can finish it up or use the pieces in something else. Download Chaz Chat Source and Project files for AIR here.

* DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any damages that you think this code caused.. including exploding your toaster, your poor doggie getting run over, sputnik falling on your roof or your mommy making you eat your lima beans.

Have fun with it.. I like lima beans.

:{)