Subwave

Subwave is a simple conversation-based chat system similar to IRC.

Implementation:

Many clients can connect to a single server to participate in the conversations on that server. All messages are passed through the server; clients never connect directly to each other. This allows the server to verify and approve all messages and means that client machines don't need to worry about configuring any kind of port forwarding on their networks. Only the server needs to be reachable.

Deployment:

There are two ways to download and deploy the application:

• Download the compiled executable-jars for the most recent version at the releases page
• Tagged commits are automatically deployed as github releases.
• Clone the repository using git and run the "deploy" task using Ant. (Advanced)

Project Status:

• See the Waffle IO board to see current issue status.
• See the Travis CI page to check the success of build tasks.

Server Instructions

• Download SubwaveServer.jar.
• Go to the download location and double click the file. (Or, using a command line, type "java -jar SubwaveServer.jar")
• The server will start automatically and provide the IP and local port being used.
• Note: users behind a NAT or firewall will need to configure port forwarding and/or firewall exemptions manually.

Client instructions

• Download SubwaveClient.jar.
• Go to the download location and double click the file. (Or, using a command line, type "java -jar SubwaveClient.jar")
• Enter the server address and port of the remote server, or press enter to use defaults.
• You must enter a complete port and address string in the form of "address:port".
• The proper address and port is displayed near the top of the server output.
• If the server is on the same machine as the client, the default setting "localhost:4444" will usually work.
• Enter the nickname you'd like to use.
• To create a new conversation:
• Click the "New Conversation" button.
• Enter a name for the conversation.
• You will be automatically added to the conversation.
• To invite another user to the conversation:
• Select the desired user(s) in the "Other users on this server" list.
• Click the "Invite to Conversation" button.
• The selected user(s) will be automatically added to your current conversation.
• To change conversations:
• Click the desired conversation.
• Conversations with new messages will be highlighted in bold.
• To talk in a conversation:
• Type into the box below the conversation window.
• Press enter, or click "send", to send the message.
• To emote, start your message with "\me". (Ex: "\me waves hello.")

Current version limitations

As of version 0.0.5 there remain a few limitations and issues:

• Various text-user-interface (TUI) features are unimplemented or were broken with the GUI upgrade.
• Some features will be implemented or repaired in a future release.
• Some features will not be available in the TUI.
• openJDK 6 is not compatible with the client GUI
• openJDK 6 does not support parametrized types with JList objects.
• Oracle JDK 7 and Oracle JDK 8 are both still supported.

See the issue tracker at Waffle IO for current progress information.