Update the docs with info on connection managers etc.

docs/html/_sources/index.txt

@@ -7,13 +7,78 @@
    :maxdepth: 2
 
 .. contents:: Table of Contents
-   :depth: 2
+   :depth: 3
    :local:
 
+===================
+What you will need:
+===================
 
-========================
-Configuration variables:
-========================
+An XMPP/Jabber server
+=====================
+
+*Converse.js* implements `XMPP`_ as its messaging protocol, and therefore needs
+to connect to an XMPP/Jabber server (Jabber is really just a synonym for XMPP).
+
+You can either set up your own XMPP server, or use a public one. You can find a
+list of public XMPP servers/providers on `xmpp.net`_ and a list of servers that
+you can set up yourself on `xmpp.org`_. Personally, I'm partial towards `ejabberd`_.
+
+Session support (i.e. single site login)
+----------------------------------------
+
+It's possible to enable single-site login, whereby users already
+authenticated in your website will also automatically be logged in on the chat server,
+but this will require custom code on your server.
+
+Jack Moffitt has a great `blogpost`_ about this and even provides an `example Django application`_ to demonstrate it.
+
+Connection Manager
+==================
+
+Your website and *Converse.js* use `HTTP`_ as protocol to communicate with
+the webserver. HTTP connections are stateless and usually shortlived.
+
+`XMPP`_ on the other hand, is the protocol that enables instant messaging, and
+its connections are stateful and usually longer.
+
+To enable a web application like *Converse.js* to communicate with an XMPP
+server, we need a proxy in the middle that can act as a bridge between the two
+protocols.
+
+This is the job of a connection manager. A connection manager can be either a
+standalone application or part of an XMPP server. `ejabberd`_ for example,
+includes a connection manager (but you have to enable it).
+
+The demo on the `Converse.js homepage`_ uses a a connection manager located at https://bind.opkode.im.
+This connection manager is for testing purposes only, please don't use it in
+production.
+
+Overcoming cross-domain request restrictions
+--------------------------------------------
+
+The domain of the *Converse.js* demo is *conversejs.org*, but the domain of the connection manager is *opkode.im*.
+HTTP requests are made by *Converse.js* to the connection manager via XmlHttpRequests (XHR).  
+Until recently, it was not possible to make such requests to a different domain
+than the one currently being served (to prevent XSS attacks).
+
+Luckily there is now a standard called `CORS`_ (Cross-origin resource sharing), which enables exactly that.
+Modern browsers support CORS, but there are problems with Internet Explorer <
+10.
+
+IE 8 and 9 partially support CORS via a proprietary implementation called
+XDomainRequest. There is a `Strophe.js plugin`_ which you can use to enable
+support for XDomainRequest when it is present.
+
+In IE < 8, there is no support for CORS.
+
+If you need to support these browsers, you can add a front-end proxy in
+Apache/Nginx which serves the connection manager under the same domain as your
+website. This will remove the need for any cross-domain XHR support.
+
+====================================
+Converse.js Configuration variables:
+====================================
 
 prebind
 ========
@@ -72,11 +137,31 @@ auto_subscribe
 
 If true, the user will automatically subscribe back to any contact requests.
 
+auto_list_rooms
+===============
+
+If true, and the XMPP server on which the current user is logged in supports
+multi-user chat, then a list of rooms on that server will be fetched.
+
+Not recommended for servers with lots of chat rooms.
+
+For each room on the server a query is made to fetch further details (e.g.
+features, number of occupants etc.), so on servers with many rooms this 
+option will create lots of extra connection traffic.
+
 animate
 =======
 
 Show animations, for example when opening and closing chat boxes.
 
 .. _`here`: http://metajack.im/2008/09/08/which-bosh-server-do-you-need/l
-
-
+.. _`HTTP`: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext_Transfer_Protocol
+.. _`XMPP`: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xmpp
+.. _`Converse.js homepage`: http://conversejs.org
+.. _`CORS`: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-origin_resource_sharing
+.. _`Strophe.js plugin`: https://gist.github.com/1095825/6b4517276f26b66b01fa97b0a78c01275fdc6ff2
+.. _`xmpp.net`: http://xmpp.net
+.. _`xmpp.org`: http://xmpp.org/xmpp-software/servers/
+.. _`ejabberd`: http://www.ejabberd.im
+.. _`blogpost`: http://metajack.im/2008/10/03/getting-attached-to-strophe
+.. _`example Django application`: https://github.com/metajack/strophejs/tree/master/examples/attach

docs/html/index.html

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
   <head>
     <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
     
-    <title>Configuration variables: &mdash; Converse.js 0.3 documentation</title>
+    <title>What you will need: &mdash; Converse.js 0.3 documentation</title>
     
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="_static/stylesheet.css" type="text/css" />
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="_static/pygments.css" type="text/css" />
@@ -65,21 +65,84 @@
 <div class="contents local topic" id="table-of-contents">
 <p class="topic-title first">Table of Contents</p>
 <ul class="simple">
-<li><a class="reference internal" href="#configuration-variables" id="id1">Configuration variables:</a><ul>
-<li><a class="reference internal" href="#prebind" id="id2">prebind</a></li>
-<li><a class="reference internal" href="#fullname" id="id3">fullname</a></li>
-<li><a class="reference internal" href="#bosh-service-url" id="id4">bosh_service_url</a></li>
-<li><a class="reference internal" href="#xhr-user-search" id="id5">xhr_user_search</a></li>
-<li><a class="reference internal" href="#auto-subscribe" id="id6">auto_subscribe</a></li>
-<li><a class="reference internal" href="#animate" id="id7">animate</a></li>
+<li><a class="reference internal" href="#what-you-will-need" id="id1">What you will need:</a><ul>
+<li><a class="reference internal" href="#an-xmpp-jabber-server" id="id2">An XMPP/Jabber server</a><ul>
+<li><a class="reference internal" href="#session-support-i-e-single-site-login" id="id3">Session support (i.e. single site login)</a></li>
+</ul>
+</li>
+<li><a class="reference internal" href="#connection-manager" id="id4">Connection Manager</a><ul>
+<li><a class="reference internal" href="#overcoming-cross-domain-request-restrictions" id="id5">Overcoming cross-domain request restrictions</a></li>
+</ul>
+</li>
+</ul>
+</li>
+<li><a class="reference internal" href="#converse-js-configuration-variables" id="id6">Converse.js Configuration variables:</a><ul>
+<li><a class="reference internal" href="#prebind" id="id7">prebind</a></li>
+<li><a class="reference internal" href="#fullname" id="id8">fullname</a></li>
+<li><a class="reference internal" href="#bosh-service-url" id="id9">bosh_service_url</a></li>
+<li><a class="reference internal" href="#xhr-user-search" id="id10">xhr_user_search</a></li>
+<li><a class="reference internal" href="#auto-subscribe" id="id11">auto_subscribe</a></li>
+<li><a class="reference internal" href="#auto-list-rooms" id="id12">auto_list_rooms</a></li>
+<li><a class="reference internal" href="#animate" id="id13">animate</a></li>
 </ul>
 </li>
 </ul>
 </div>
-<div class="section" id="configuration-variables">
-<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id1">Configuration variables:</a><a class="headerlink" href="#configuration-variables" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h1>
+<div class="section" id="what-you-will-need">
+<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id1">What you will need:</a><a class="headerlink" href="#what-you-will-need" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h1>
+<div class="section" id="an-xmpp-jabber-server">
+<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id2">An XMPP/Jabber server</a><a class="headerlink" href="#an-xmpp-jabber-server" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
+<p><em>Converse.js</em> implements <a class="reference external" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xmpp">XMPP</a> as its messaging protocol, and therefore needs
+to connect to an XMPP/Jabber server (Jabber is really just a synonym for XMPP).</p>
+<p>You can either set up your own XMPP server, or use a public one. You can find a
+list of public XMPP servers/providers on <a class="reference external" href="http://xmpp.net">xmpp.net</a> and a list of servers that
+you can set up yourself on <a class="reference external" href="http://xmpp.org/xmpp-software/servers/">xmpp.org</a>. Personally, I&#8217;m partial towards <a class="reference external" href="http://www.ejabberd.im">ejabberd</a>.</p>
+<div class="section" id="session-support-i-e-single-site-login">
+<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id3">Session support (i.e. single site login)</a><a class="headerlink" href="#session-support-i-e-single-site-login" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>
+<p>It&#8217;s possible to enable single-site login, whereby users already
+authenticated in your website will also automatically be logged in on the chat server,
+but this will require custom code on your server.</p>
+<p>Jack Moffitt has a great <a class="reference external" href="http://metajack.im/2008/10/03/getting-attached-to-strophe">blogpost</a> about this and even provides an <a class="reference external" href="https://github.com/metajack/strophejs/tree/master/examples/attach">example Django application</a> to demonstrate it.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="section" id="connection-manager">
+<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id4">Connection Manager</a><a class="headerlink" href="#connection-manager" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
+<p>Your website and <em>Converse.js</em> use <a class="reference external" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext_Transfer_Protocol">HTTP</a> as protocol to communicate with
+the webserver. HTTP connections are stateless and usually shortlived.</p>
+<p><a class="reference external" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xmpp">XMPP</a> on the other hand, is the protocol that enables instant messaging, and
+its connections are stateful and usually longer.</p>
+<p>To enable a web application like <em>Converse.js</em> to communicate with an XMPP
+server, we need a proxy in the middle that can act as a bridge between the two
+protocols.</p>
+<p>This is the job of a connection manager. A connection manager can be either a
+standalone application or part of an XMPP server. <a class="reference external" href="http://www.ejabberd.im">ejabberd</a> for example,
+includes a connection manager (but you have to enable it).</p>
+<p>The demo on the <a class="reference external" href="http://conversejs.org">Converse.js homepage</a> uses a a connection manager located at <a class="reference external" href="https://bind.opkode.im">https://bind.opkode.im</a>.
+This connection manager is for testing purposes only, please don&#8217;t use it in
+production.</p>
+<div class="section" id="overcoming-cross-domain-request-restrictions">
+<h3><a class="toc-backref" href="#id5">Overcoming cross-domain request restrictions</a><a class="headerlink" href="#overcoming-cross-domain-request-restrictions" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>
+<p>The domain of the <em>Converse.js</em> demo is <em>conversejs.org</em>, but the domain of the connection manager is <em>opkode.im</em>.
+HTTP requests are made by <em>Converse.js</em> to the connection manager via XmlHttpRequests (XHR).
+Until recently, it was not possible to make such requests to a different domain
+than the one currently being served (to prevent XSS attacks).</p>
+<p>Luckily there is now a standard called <a class="reference external" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-origin_resource_sharing">CORS</a> (Cross-origin resource sharing), which enables exactly that.
+Modern browsers support CORS, but there are problems with Internet Explorer &lt;
+10.</p>
+<p>IE 8 and 9 partially support CORS via a proprietary implementation called
+XDomainRequest. There is a <a class="reference external" href="https://gist.github.com/1095825/6b4517276f26b66b01fa97b0a78c01275fdc6ff2">Strophe.js plugin</a> which you can use to enable
+support for XDomainRequest when it is present.</p>
+<p>In IE &lt; 8, there is no support for CORS.</p>
+<p>If you need to support these browsers, you can add a front-end proxy in
+Apache/Nginx which serves the connection manager under the same domain as your
+website. This will remove the need for any cross-domain XHR support.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="section" id="converse-js-configuration-variables">
+<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id6">Converse.js Configuration variables:</a><a class="headerlink" href="#converse-js-configuration-variables" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h1>
 <div class="section" id="prebind">
-<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id2">prebind</a><a class="headerlink" href="#prebind" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
+<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id7">prebind</a><a class="headerlink" href="#prebind" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
 <p>Use this option when you want to attach to an existing XMPP connection that was
 already authenticated (usually on the backend before page load).</p>
 <p>This is useful when you don&#8217;t want to render the login form on the chat control
@@ -99,18 +162,18 @@ have to write a Javascript snippet to attach to the set up connection:</p>
 RID (Request ID), which you use when you attach to the connection.</p>
 </div>
 <div class="section" id="fullname">
-<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id3">fullname</a><a class="headerlink" href="#fullname" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
+<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id8">fullname</a><a class="headerlink" href="#fullname" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
 <p>If you are using prebinding, you need to specify the fullname of the currently
 logged in user.</p>
 </div>
 <div class="section" id="bosh-service-url">
-<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id4">bosh_service_url</a><a class="headerlink" href="#bosh-service-url" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
+<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id9">bosh_service_url</a><a class="headerlink" href="#bosh-service-url" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
 <p>Connections to an XMPP server depend on a BOSH connection manager which acts as
 a middle man between HTTP and XMPP.</p>
 <p>See <a class="reference external" href="http://metajack.im/2008/09/08/which-bosh-server-do-you-need/l">here</a> for more information.</p>
 </div>
 <div class="section" id="xhr-user-search">
-<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id5">xhr_user_search</a><a class="headerlink" href="#xhr-user-search" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
+<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id10">xhr_user_search</a><a class="headerlink" href="#xhr-user-search" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
 <p>There are two ways to add users.</p>
 <ul class="simple">
 <li>The user inputs a valid JID (Jabber ID), and the user is added as a pending</li>
@@ -121,11 +184,20 @@ a middle man between HTTP and XMPP.</p>
 be used.</p>
 </div>
 <div class="section" id="auto-subscribe">
-<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id6">auto_subscribe</a><a class="headerlink" href="#auto-subscribe" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
+<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id11">auto_subscribe</a><a class="headerlink" href="#auto-subscribe" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
 <p>If true, the user will automatically subscribe back to any contact requests.</p>
 </div>
+<div class="section" id="auto-list-rooms">
+<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id12">auto_list_rooms</a><a class="headerlink" href="#auto-list-rooms" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
+<p>If true, and the XMPP server on which the current user is logged in supports
+multi-user chat, then a list of rooms on that server will be fetched.</p>
+<p>Not recommended for servers with lots of chat rooms.</p>
+<p>For each room on the server a query is made to fetch further details (e.g.
+features, number of occupants etc.), so on servers with many rooms this
+option will create lots of extra connection traffic.</p>
+</div>
 <div class="section" id="animate">
-<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id7">animate</a><a class="headerlink" href="#animate" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
+<h2><a class="toc-backref" href="#id13">animate</a><a class="headerlink" href="#animate" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
 <p>Show animations, for example when opening and closing chat boxes.</p>
 </div>
 </div>

docs/source/index.rst

@@ -7,13 +7,78 @@
    :maxdepth: 2
 
 .. contents:: Table of Contents
-   :depth: 2
+   :depth: 3
    :local:
 
+===================
+What you will need:
+===================
 
-========================
-Configuration variables:
-========================
+An XMPP/Jabber server
+=====================
+
+*Converse.js* implements `XMPP`_ as its messaging protocol, and therefore needs
+to connect to an XMPP/Jabber server (Jabber is really just a synonym for XMPP).
+
+You can either set up your own XMPP server, or use a public one. You can find a
+list of public XMPP servers/providers on `xmpp.net`_ and a list of servers that
+you can set up yourself on `xmpp.org`_. Personally, I'm partial towards `ejabberd`_.
+
+Session support (i.e. single site login)
+----------------------------------------
+
+It's possible to enable single-site login, whereby users already
+authenticated in your website will also automatically be logged in on the chat server,
+but this will require custom code on your server.
+
+Jack Moffitt has a great `blogpost`_ about this and even provides an `example Django application`_ to demonstrate it.
+
+Connection Manager
+==================
+
+Your website and *Converse.js* use `HTTP`_ as protocol to communicate with
+the webserver. HTTP connections are stateless and usually shortlived.
+
+`XMPP`_ on the other hand, is the protocol that enables instant messaging, and
+its connections are stateful and usually longer.
+
+To enable a web application like *Converse.js* to communicate with an XMPP
+server, we need a proxy in the middle that can act as a bridge between the two
+protocols.
+
+This is the job of a connection manager. A connection manager can be either a
+standalone application or part of an XMPP server. `ejabberd`_ for example,
+includes a connection manager (but you have to enable it).
+
+The demo on the `Converse.js homepage`_ uses a a connection manager located at https://bind.opkode.im.
+This connection manager is for testing purposes only, please don't use it in
+production.
+
+Overcoming cross-domain request restrictions
+--------------------------------------------
+
+The domain of the *Converse.js* demo is *conversejs.org*, but the domain of the connection manager is *opkode.im*.
+HTTP requests are made by *Converse.js* to the connection manager via XmlHttpRequests (XHR).  
+Until recently, it was not possible to make such requests to a different domain
+than the one currently being served (to prevent XSS attacks).
+
+Luckily there is now a standard called `CORS`_ (Cross-origin resource sharing), which enables exactly that.
+Modern browsers support CORS, but there are problems with Internet Explorer <
+10.
+
+IE 8 and 9 partially support CORS via a proprietary implementation called
+XDomainRequest. There is a `Strophe.js plugin`_ which you can use to enable
+support for XDomainRequest when it is present.
+
+In IE < 8, there is no support for CORS.
+
+If you need to support these browsers, you can add a front-end proxy in
+Apache/Nginx which serves the connection manager under the same domain as your
+website. This will remove the need for any cross-domain XHR support.
+
+====================================
+Converse.js Configuration variables:
+====================================
 
 prebind
 ========
@@ -90,5 +155,13 @@ animate
 Show animations, for example when opening and closing chat boxes.
 
 .. _`here`: http://metajack.im/2008/09/08/which-bosh-server-do-you-need/l
-
-
+.. _`HTTP`: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext_Transfer_Protocol
+.. _`XMPP`: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xmpp
+.. _`Converse.js homepage`: http://conversejs.org
+.. _`CORS`: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-origin_resource_sharing
+.. _`Strophe.js plugin`: https://gist.github.com/1095825/6b4517276f26b66b01fa97b0a78c01275fdc6ff2
+.. _`xmpp.net`: http://xmpp.net
+.. _`xmpp.org`: http://xmpp.org/xmpp-software/servers/
+.. _`ejabberd`: http://www.ejabberd.im
+.. _`blogpost`: http://metajack.im/2008/10/03/getting-attached-to-strophe
+.. _`example Django application`: https://github.com/metajack/strophejs/tree/master/examples/attach