When initially run, a messaging client typically shows some list of contacts and chatrooms, and whether any new messages are present in each.
The current mechanism for achieving this UX involves a complete synchronization of the server-side archive, and is both time-consuming and bandwidth-intensive. This specification proposes a solution to directly obtain such data from the server.
Moreover, the information gathered by the server to support this can be used in support of mobile push notifications.
Nomenclature used for instant messages versus ancillary messages will need to be adjusted to make it consistent with Message Fastening (XEP-0422) [1] et al.
Support for this protocol is advertised by the Service Discovery protocol defined in Service Discovery (XEP-0030) [2] using a feature
of urn:xmpp:inbox:0.
The Inbox consists semantically of a list of conversations in order of last activity. Each conversation is identified by a jid - for group chats this would be the chatroom, and for individual contacts this would be their bare jid.
Each Inbox entry includes a count of messages considered new, the last MAM stanza-id relating to this conversation, and the last MAM result for this conversation, as defined by Message Archive Management (XEP-0313) [3]. In addition, a client-controlled boolean marker can be used to indicate a manual "set unread" state.
Finding more messages from this conversation can be achieved via a MAM query using with to specify the
conversation required.
An <iq/> of type "get" is used, containing a single element <inbox/>, containing an optional RSM
filter as specified by Result Set Management (XEP-0059) [4]. This will typically be sent only to the user's own bare jid. The server
responds with a sequence of <message/> stanzas, each containing an <entry/> element qualified by the
urn:xmpp:inbox:0 namespace with a number of attributes:
jid - contains the Jid of the conversation for this entry.unread - contains a count of messages which are deemed to be unread by the server.marked - a boolean indicating that a client has explicitly marked the conversation for some reason.The <entry/> element contains the latest instant message, if any, which is encapsulated as a
<result/> element as defined by Message Archive Management (XEP-0313) [3]. This contains collated fastenings if supported by the
server.
After all entries required have been returned, the server then responds with an <iq/> result containing a
<fin/> element qualified by urn:xmpp:inbox:0. This contains the RSM data, a total count of conversation
entries within the inbox, a count of conversations with unread messages, and a total count of unread messages.
Any counter of unread SHOULD be accurate, however client implementors please note that due to heuristics involved and other issues these counters can be inaccurate at times.
A client MAY at any time set a conversation as marked by sending an <iq/> of type "set" containing something or other. This causes the server to set the "marked" flag on a conversation. A client SHOULD display a marked conversation in the same way as an unread conversation, and explicitly removed the marked flag when the conversation is considered re-read.
Removing a marked flag, even when the conversation is not currently marked, causes the unread counter for that conversation to be set to zero.
Servers MUST track which instant messages sent to clients remain unread.
Let us assume a user has only two contacts they have exchanges messages with, and a single chatroom. Asking for their inbox is simple:
<iq type='get' id='iq_stanza_id'>
<inbox xmlns='urn:xmpp:inbox:0'/>
</iq>
The server responds with a list of conversations:
<message>
<entry xmlns='urn:xmpp:inbox:0' unread='2' marked='false' jid='first_contact@example.net'>
<result xmlns='urn:xmpp:mam:2' queryid='iq_stanza_id' id='uuid-1'>
<forwarded xmlns='urn:xmpp:forward:0'>
<message xmlns='jabber:client' from='first_contact@example.net' to='user@example.org' type='chat'>
<body>Greetings from Alpha Centauri!</body>
</message>
</forwarded>
</result>
</entry>
</message>
After the list of messages, the server completes its response with a the reply to the original IQ.
<iq type='result' id='iq_stanza_id'>
<fin xmlns='urn:xmpp:inbox:0' total='3' unread='1' all-unread='2'>
<!-- RSM -->
</fin>
TODO - Hopefully roughly given by the examples.
TODO
This XEP requires no interaction with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) [7].
None.
The author notes that this protocol is heavily based on the mod_inbox system of MongooseIM. In addition, Kevin Smith provided useful feedback which has shaped this specification.
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The following requirements keywords as used in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119: "MUST", "SHALL", "REQUIRED"; "MUST NOT", "SHALL NOT"; "SHOULD", "RECOMMENDED"; "SHOULD NOT", "NOT RECOMMENDED"; "MAY", "OPTIONAL".
1. XEP-0422: Message Fastening <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0422.html>.
2. XEP-0030: Service Discovery <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0030.html>.
3. XEP-0313: Message Archive Management <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0313.html>.
4. XEP-0059: Result Set Management <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0059.html>.
5. XEP-0333: Displayed Markers <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0333.html>.
6. XEP-0184: Message Delivery Receipts <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0184.html>.
7. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is the central coordinator for the assignment of unique parameter values for Internet protocols, such as port numbers and URI schemes. For further information, see <http://www.iana.org/>.
Note: Older versions of this specification might be available at https://xmpp.org/extensions/attic/
@report{cridland2019inbox,
title = {Inbox},
author = {Cridland, Dave},
type = {XEP},
number = {XXXX},
version = {0.0.1},
institution = {XMPP Standards Foundation},
url = {https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-XXXX.html},
date = {2019-12-30/2019-12-30},
}END