phpFreeChat (pfc) is a Web based chat written in JQuery and PHP. Perfect if you need an easy to integrate chat for your Web site.
Features
- themable web interface
- responsive web interface (mobile, tablet, desktop)
- multi-user management
- polling refresh system (with ajax)
- modular authentication system (phpbb3 integration available)
- hook system to enable features extension
- file system used for storage (no database)
- coming soon:
- be able to rename the username (/nick command)
- be able to create private messages
- multi-channel management
- long polling refresh system (to improve reactvity)
- user's avatars management
- user's role/rights management (admin, users)
- user's presence management (away, online)
- messages with smiley
- messages with url detection (open in a new window)
- messages with color, bold, or underline
- news message notification
- log message system
Architecture
pfc architecture is splited in two distinct parts:
- client: a themable jquery plugin in charge of displaying the chat interface and to communicate with the server side using for example AJAX
- server: a RESTful architecture coded in PHP using the Slim framework in charge of the chat logic. It stores messages and send messages updates to the clients using classic HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE).
Here is an example of a basic communication between client and server:
- Client asks server to authenticate the user, server stores the user and returns a session id to the client.
- Client joins a channel, server stores that this user joined the channel and sends a "join" message to every connected users in this channel.
- Client sends a message into this channel, server publish this message into a queue for each connected users in this channel.
- Client read its pending messages, server read the user's queue and returns the messages list, client displays the messages on the interface.
