Plugging Skype and Pidgin together
After thinking about
de-nuctifying the world I've started to investigate creating a
Pidgin (formerly
Gaim) plugin to control
Skype. This means you're still using a
closed network, but from an open program, which makes migrating
easier (and allows people to try multiple networks from the same
interface).
The
Skype API
docs are pretty good and it looks like the API can support at
least controlling status, sending and receiving text messages, and
making and receiving phone calls. So in principle a Skype plugin
for Pidgin is a possibility.
There are a few docs on writing libpurple plugins for Pidgin but
less comprehensively - the
author of the Sametime
plugin or the guy working on a
MySpaceIM plugin
probably know exactly how it works (the MySpaceIM plugin is a
Google Summer of Code project that fits in with my idea very
nicely). There is a C Plugin HOWTO in the source code which should
get things started. Some ideas in the
Adium Skype plugin bug as
well.
On the way I read
Silver Needle
in the Skype which is an article on reverse-engineering Skype
and using it - very interesting tech reading... but a shame they
haven't made the code available
Well since it's 8 days till we leave Cape Town and head to Japan
I'm not planning to actually
do anything about this, but
thought I'd write it up so I don't lose the links...
PS This blog doesn't currently have a comment mechanism so email
comments are welcome to davidf
at sjsoft
dot
com.