DEV Community: Abirami Elangovan

A Guide On MVP Development For Chat Apps!

Abirami Elangovan — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 13:58:21 +0000

"Building an MVP for chat apps is known to offer exceptional benefits for developers, businesses, and entrepreneurs. Find a lot more about it in this guide."

Name a place where you may not see competition. It's difficult to recollect ain't it? Because, everywhere you turn around, there are a lot of fiery battles between businesses.

In such a case, your focus ought to be on reducing the project's development time.

So what should you do as a developer? Simply build an MVP solution for your chat application or any project that you are coding into.

That way, you will have a working version of how your software will look thereby helping you to pitch in investors.

What else does MVP offer? Why should we need one? Are there any components of it? We'll answer all these queries in the section below.

What does MVP mean to developers?

MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is a methodology that developers adopt to release a basic version of a project they are developing with minimal features to check its functionality and errors.

Plus, it helps to collect feedback from end users that can be implemented in the apps.

This way, the product reaches the market quickly thereby reducing the number of iterations during project completion.

Editor's Tip: Did you know that over 90% of startups fail without active MVPs? The reasons are primarily because of unfriendly UI, and improper capture of user requirements.

What is the importance of an MVP?

MVPs are hand-friendly whenever a new product or a feature is on the roadmap. Because it will include the smallest feature suite that will go for customer review before planning for the next few.

Users upon review will give their feedback and developers can iterate if there is an error and will again follow the development cycle.

So, MVPs are risk-mitigating aspects that help businesses to reduce their development time and cost of building a wrong end product.

Further, we will see a few reasons why businesses need to adopt this methodology:

Gather frequent feedback on product development.
Save plenty of time and resources by launching initial codes.
Businesses can save budget without having to spend extra when developing a wrong product.
Find investors at an early stage without having to wait for product completion.

and more!

Now, we will see the different businesses that have successfully implemented this MVP technology.

Businesses That Used MVP For Their Projects

You'll be hell-shocked to find out that top-tier companies like Uber, Buffer, and Instagram have all used MVP to launch a successful end product.

With these, there are other brands too who have experimented with MVPs, and they are:

1. Airbnb

The prime reason for making themselves a hit in the tourism industry is the use of MVP by not adding any extra features. This input was given to them by travelers who had booked apartments for overnight stays.

As the firm was initially into renting out apartments for accomodation at best rates.

2. Instagram

Insta's simple MVP was to bring to market a simplistic photo-capturing and sharing platform, which later was widely accepted by users and became a very successful video-sharing platform.

With these, other MVPs like adding a few filters, and launching for the iOS platform, all help to build a budget-friendly product.

3. Uber

Thanks to this app development it became a hit in the market when it was launched. Because, back then, there were no cabs and we had to wait very long to rent out taxis.

So, Uber's turning point was their MVP which was launched to test a single feature- the use of GPS to share location with taxi drivers and pick up customers.

This turned out to be successful and the saga continued.

4. Buffer

Buffer is a social media platform that looks into account scheduling and management processes. Initially, it was started as a two-page site with very few elements.

It was given to users for testing and post-learning that their lean methodology worked well, and they started building across different platforms and devices.

5. Dropbox

Now known to be a popular cloud storage platform, earlier faced a lot of technical and financial issues that made the company go haywire.

As none were able to figure out the solution to their problem. It was at that time, that Dree Huston, created a video MVP and explained the idea that made it to the top now.

Therefore, it's evident that an MVP yields positive results irrespective of any product domain or genre.

So, it is time we see a tangible example of how MVP can be used in chat app development.

MVP For In-app Chat Development

Here in the section below, let us see how to build an MVP for in-app messaging apps. For it, add all the basic features of any chat app and then send it for iteration,

Pro tip: If you are planning to build cross-platform chat apps but are clueless as to how they will perform, then try MVP development for the Flutter framework first, then try React Native.

Text-based chats: It is a simple feature that involves nothing but some real-stuff messaging.
Voice chats: Sending voice messages instead of normal text.
Video calls or chats: Face-to-face interactions always have a higher selling point than real-time chats.
Group calling: Creating groups and doing a conference call can elevate engagement levels.
Presence indicators: These days every user would want to know whether their peer is available or offline.
Stickers: Make conversation fun-filled and exciting by adding emojis and stickers.
Push notifications: This MVP is essential to notify users upon message or call reception.
Media attachments: Always a picture depicts information quicker than any chat. So, try adding this attribute.
Real-time translation: These days, businesses just don't operate from their homes, but across borders. So, having this feature can help users from different geographies to communicate.
Whiteboards: You need a tool for effective collaboration and there is nothing better than whiteboards.
Voice notes: Be it voice or video notes, you can feel a sense of closeness to the person speaking.
Delete messages: You cannot build an app without a delete option.

So, there you have the list of MVPs while creating in-app chats. Try these and leave us a comment on how efficiently it made your business call.

Wrapping Up!

Congo buddies, you have learned the importance of minimal viable products through this blog post.

With the strategy ready in hand, you can build MVPs for any type of solution, be it to build live chat apps, or dating apps, or healthcare solutions, a small set of feature development can do wonders than spending more time on the whole completion.

What are you waiting for? Simply create an account with MirrorFly and start finalizing your MVPs for chat app development. As this particular in-app communication API provider has the best suite of features in town.

Everything About XMPP in 2023

Abirami Elangovan — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 09:11:37 +0000

"In the article below, we will quickly look at the basics and benefits of XMPP for chat applications and a few real-life scenarios of this instant messaging protocol."

Think about any use case, you may find in-app chats reigning among users and businesses because of its ability to communicate in real-time.

Therefore, the need to build real-time chat apps like WhatsApp with low latency along with top capabilities like multi-party chats and presence indicators made developers prefer the XMPP protocol for Android and iOS chat apps.

So, what is this protocol? How has it successfully passed the test of time? Or how does XMPP work? We'll find answers to all the questions here.

What is XMPP Chat?

XMPP chats are real-time chats or messages that are powered by the XMPP protocol for seamless transmission of XML data between two network endpoints.

What does XMPP chat protocol mean?

XMPP (eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) is an open-standard chat protocol that paves the way for seamless transfer of XML fragments, i.e., messages and presence information between two network endpoints in real-time.

Further, this protocol can process only small chunks of XML data and cannot handle large streams or blobs of binary information. To best explain its definition, we will break down its meaning alphabetically.

And lately, XMPP arose as the widely accepted protocol than WebSockets for building React Native and Flutter chat apps. So, let us see its working methodology.

How does XMPP chat work?

It is very simple as the XMPP protocol follows a client-server architecture model where the messages sent by the client first reach the server, then based on a unique identifier, the server routes the message to the correct client.

But how does the server know which client to send?

In the XMPP protocol, every client is assigned a unique Jabber ID when connected to the XMPP server.
The ID is in the format userdomain/resource where the user is the client's username and domain.com is the client's domain name.
And then the resource is the device, that is web or mobile, from which messages are sent.

Now with all these done,

The client first initiates a session with the server which is usually known to be an XML stream. And the connection is the TCP connection.
After this, the server identifies who's the user with the help of the unique identifier and then accepts the connection.
Upon acceptance, the server sends back the XML stream to the right client.
This results in a two-way stream of XML data.

Further, more than one XMPP server can connect with each other to form a network called Federation. This Federation allows clients to connect with different XMPP servers.

Can understand better with visuals? Below is a pictorial representation of XMPP client-server architecture.

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Now that we have seen the basics of how an XMPP protocol works, we will further dig deep by traveling the architecture a little.

XMPP Stanzas

XMPP Stanzas are the fragments of XML that are transmitted between two network endpoints for initiating communication. Usually, Stanzas are of three types, each of which serves a different purpose and structure.

1. Presence Stanza

As the name goes, it helps to display the presence of a user or network status to other users or servers.

2. Message Stanza

It is nothing but messages or chats, group chats, headlines, or errors that are transmitted between users. This stanza uses a 'push' mechanism to send data to other XMPP entities.

3. IQ Stanza

Similar to HTTP's GET and POST methods, IQ Stanza looks after the requests and modifies data between client servers.

Now that we have seen the working process of XMPP, let us look at its features.

Features of XMPP Chat Protocol

Listed below are some of the best features of the XMPP instant messaging protocol:

1. Asynchronous Messaging

It means users can send any number of messages to other users in real time without having to wait for a response from the recipient. Plus, it is not mandatory that users must be online to exchange texts, unlike other client-server architectures.

2. Decentralization

As XMPP is an open standard protocol, anyone can create their server either on-site for complete control or deploy in the cloud for easy management.

3. Persistent Connection

As XMPP follows a client-server architecture, it creates a persistent TCP connection for the client to interact with the server or between server and server.

As a result of this persistence, there will not be a need to re-establish connection during data transfer, and the XMPP protocol minimizes network latency, congestion, memory usage, bandwidth costs, and more.

4. Gateways

Gateways act as client's proxies alongside the XMPP server that connect multiple protocol types like SMS to XMPP and emails. Gateways require no additional code for implementation.

Now,

When to use the XMPP protocol for chat app development?

Just like XMPP, there are plenty of other chat protocols in the market that developers can choose based on their tech stack. But let me tell you, buddies, choosing a protocol and thinking that it would be the best fit can be time-consuming.

Because we need to ensure effectiveness and reliability while using a protocol for chat app development. So, you may use the XMPP protocol if,

You are completely focusing on using an open-source protocol and setting up your servers without third-party involvement.
You are allowed to create multiple XMPP libraries that come compatible with coding languages like C, JS, Ruby, Python, Perl, Java, and more.
You need a protocol that's been in the market for decades and has a strong developer community.
The protocol caters to varied use cases like CoIP, gaming, IoT, and a lot more besides messaging and chat applications.

This section might have helped you to get an idea of when to use the XMPP protocol. Let us see some of the examples.

Real-life Scenarios Of XMPP Chat Apps

Till now we have learned that the XMPP chat protocol stands as the widely accepted messaging protocol by many developers. And to our surprise, many tech giants adopted this protocol to build their chat applications. They are:

WhatsApp - Uses an extended version of XMPP for chat features
Apple - Used XMPP for push notifications
Zoom- Used XMPP for chat capabilities
Grindr - Used XMPP for real-time chats

And there are more!

What are the benefits of XMPP chats?

Did you know that the protocol has been surviving in the market for over two decades now just because of its extensible nature?

Well, primarily because of its peer-to-peer messaging. And beyond this, the IETF adopted open standard protocol is known for other benefits like:

1. Assured Delivery
Because of a persistent TCP connection and the presence of XML stanza, the recipients and senders are aware of message delivery in the network without any packet loss.

2. Compatible with Multiple Languages
XMPP libraries come compatible with different programming languages like C++, C#Ruby, Java, Python, Perl, and a few more that are helpful for developers to build chat apps in any tech stack they prefer.

3. High Stability & Reliability

The XMPP protocol is able to withstand any pressure and tests because of thousands of XMPP servers online and hundreds of developers working with the protocol to look after its maintenance.

4. Decentralized Architecture

Because XMPP follows a decentralized architecture, anyone can build their servers or choose to deploy on the cloud without having to depend on any third-party vendors.

So, these are all the merits of using an XMPP protocol.

How does Mirrorfly’s XMPP-powered chat stand out from the rest?

In the realm of real-time communications, in-app chats, and video calls are everyone's choice, starting from users to product owners.

And to power multi-user team chat applications and transmission of audio and video messages, XMPP stands as the major chat protocol behind its working.

*How do you build a chat app with XMPP protocol? *
Well, there are two ways:

Start writing codes from scratch and embed the required XMPP libraries, which usually take months to develop.
Or simply integrate in-app chats in less than 10 minutes using Mirrorfly XMPP chat SDK.

*But you might think, of so many SDK providers in the market, why should you choose MirrorFly? *

Because, they excel from others by offering a customizable, scalable, secured, and white labeled messaging experience for different use cases. We'll also see about its exquisites in detail below:

100% Customizable SDKs
You can create unique experiences by adding your own brand colors, custom features, and logo with MirrorFly's XMPP-powered chat SDKs.
Complete Ownership
Their SaaS and Self-hosted chat solutions give developers complete access to their platform and source code to custom-build chat apps.
Hire a Developer
MirrorFly has a team of over 200+ developers to look after the complete SDK integration process.
White-labeled Solution
Using MirrorFly's XMPP chat SDKs, build chat apps by adding your own logo and brand elements.
Enterprise-grade Security
They offer E2E encryption protocols along with industry-grade regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and OWASP to protect data.

Now, you might have an idea as to why MirrorFly is agreed as a definite option in the crowded market.

So, start building your Flutter chat apps or apps of any framework by contacting the sales team. Or, learn more about any framework via their technical video tutorials.

Closing Thoughts!

Gosh!! We have come to the end of the blog post and we hope you got the best insight of XMPP. Just be assured that when developing a feature-rich chat app, XMPP stands as one of the best protocols, as there are many more. Which protocol to use completely depends on your use case and project requirements.

However, if you are ready to build iOS chat apps or Android using chat SDKs and think that XMPP is your cup of tea, then MirrorFly stands as the only option as their chat SDKs use XMPP protocol and will give the best framework to build a highly interactive chat app.

All you have to do is just create an account with them. Want to navigate to other resources:

XMPP Vs WebSockets
Popular Instant Messaging Protocols

A Blueprint to Avoid Multiple WebSocket Connections in a React Chat App

Abirami Elangovan — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 11:00:54 +0000

With over 5.18 billion internet users across the globe as on April 2023, every business with an internet presence is vying to attract more customers. However, to stand out from the intense competition of retaining existing customers and acquiring new customers, it is vital to build a personal relationship with the audience. That is made possible through chat applications.

The workings of any chat app involve a WebSocket to facilitate real-time communication. When a user joins a channel, a WebSocket connection gets created. The financial burden on the business grows when multiple connections get created for a user. Let’s discuss ways to avoid concurrent WebSocket connections in chat applications below.

Definition of Chat application

Chat App is an app that facilitates voice and text communication of two or more participants in real-time. Its users can share images, videos, documents, and screens with other participants on the chat window. One-on-one and group communication is made possible.

Definition of WebSocket

It is an internet protocol that enables real-time communication between web browsers and web servers. Two-way communication is enabled, so the messages get delivered at lightning speed. With the help of WebSocket, information can be transmitted to several connected browsers at once on self-managed chat apps. It is highly beneficial for gaming apps.

Definition of the WebSocket Connection

The connection between a user’s browser and the chat app’s server is termed a WebSocket connection. Every time a fresh data set is available, it is automatically transmitted. When every user of the app connects to the app, a WebSocket connection gets created in the React chat app.

Expenses of Concurrent Connections in a White-Label Video Chat App

As explained above, every time a user attempts to establish a connection with the chat application, a WebSocket connection is created. This means, if a particular user connects multiple times, concurrent connections are created. If this is the same case with multiple users, a lot of concurrent connections will be established. This would drastically shoot up the expenses of the business in maintaining its customizable chat application.

Since chat apps are used by businesses for first-time inquiries, customer support, pre-sales, post-sales support, etc., the number of people utilizing the chat app would be high. For each concurrent connection, charges are levied on the business. As this becomes the case for multiple users, the business will have to bear high charges to keep the chat support going.

Since this is a recurring expense, it proves to be a burden to small businesses and multinational corporations alike.

A user can generate concurrent connections in a scalable chat app in two ways. In a single web browser tab, multiple chats are initiated by the customer which creates multiple connections.

The user opens several browser tabs in a single web browser window thereby creating multiple connections in the scalable video chat app.

Concurrent Websocket Connections in Different Web Browser Tabs

An individual might open a business’ website on multiple web browser tabs of a browser window or multiple windows. Individuals might do it because the website might not be loading, or they might not want to wait until a support agent gets connected to their chat request. It might prompt them to initiate multiple chats. Individuals might also be browsing through different website pages while having a conversation with the chat agent. Multiple chat connections are created in such scenarios, creating multiple WebSocket connections in the React chat SDK.

If you are a registered user, you can open multiple tabs for the same chat application.

You will get the same events, UI updates, and payloads in each tab using a single tab at a time. So, what's the purpose of leaving the other concurrent connections open?

To resolve this, check if the chat app's browser tab is open. If it isn't, we disconnect the user; if it is, we reconnect the user. If the user uses several tabs for the video call chat app, only one connection will be active at a time.

The Page Visibility API in your browser, which is currently supported by all browsers, can inform you if a page is active or not.

But what if a user exits a browser and then comes back seconds later? You might want to disconnect and rejoin them, which would be troublesome for the user. However, to improve the overall user experience, we can add a pause/delay before disconnecting the user.

Summing Up

We hope now you got a better insight into concurrent connections, the expense of integrating them in your white-label video chat app, and how to save money by eliminating multiple connections made by a single user.