Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux?

From	cross@spitfire.i.gajendra.net (Dan Cross)
Newsgroups	comp.unix.programmer
Subject	Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux?
Date	2024-12-08 18:36 +0000
Organization	PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC
Message-ID	<vj4ovj$jv8$1@reader2.panix.com> (permalink)
References	<vj44hq$3q2ag$1@dont-email.me> <vj49mj$3r6as$1@dont-email.me> <vj4ha0$3t62j$1@dont-email.me> <vj4jmv$3tpsd$1@dont-email.me>

Show all headers | View raw

In article <vj4jmv$3tpsd$1@dont-email.me>,
Janis Papanagnou  <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> wrote:
>On 08.12.2024 17:25, Muttley@DastardlyHQ.org wrote:
>> On Sun, 8 Dec 2024 14:15:48 -0000 (UTC)
>> John McCue <jmccue@whitedwf.jmcunx.com> wibbled:
>>> Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>> <snip>
>>>>
>>>> Some characteristics I'd prefer - not all supported by the 'phone'
>>>> utility - are that it's
>>>>  * text-oriented (preferably with Unicode support), fast (no GUI)
>>>>  * instantly/synchronously exchanging any typed characters
>>>>     * optionally: switching modes (instant/character-wise, line-wise)
>>>>  * more than two persons can communicate
>>>>  * works across distributed [Unix-]systems
>>>>
>>>> Is there such a tool (free of charge and open source) available for
>>>> Linux? (Or something that comes close?)
>>>>
>>> Slackware comes with a utility called "talk", it is
>>> disabled by default.  It sounds like what you are
>>> looking for.  It allows 2 people to 'text' each other.
>>>
>>> https://www.slackbook.org/html/basic-network-commands-talk.html
>> 
>> talk is an age old unix util that allows people on the same machine to chat.
>> Even MacOS has it installed.
>
>As said, I think the historic DEC/VAX tool worked (also) only
>locally; you had to log into the same VMS-system to communicate.
>
>I'm actually looking for a tool that works across distributed
>[Unix-]systems.
>
>I'll look into the tools suggested so far what they provide.

`phone` worked across DECnet, but I don't believe it was ever
extended to work across TCP/IP.

`talk` will work between machines, over TCP/IP, but the way it
works is brittle and doesn't work well over the modern Internet.
In particular, it is de-facto limited to IPv4 and doesn't
play well with firewalls: it involves sending the contents of a
`sockaddr_in` across the network, and using that to set up a
(direct) TCP connection between processes.  One could imagine
building a proxy for it, but to my knowledge no one did so.

	- Dan C.

Back to comp.unix.programmer | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar

Thread

Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> - 2024-12-08 13:47 +0100
  Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2024-12-08 13:14 +0000
    ytalk (Was: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux?) gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) - 2024-12-08 17:18 +0000
    Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> - 2024-12-09 16:32 +0100
  Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? John McCue <jmccue@whitedwf.jmcunx.com> - 2024-12-08 14:15 +0000
    Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Muttley@DastardlyHQ.org - 2024-12-08 16:25 +0000
      Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> - 2024-12-08 18:06 +0100
        Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? cross@spitfire.i.gajendra.net (Dan Cross) - 2024-12-08 18:36 +0000
          Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Muttley@DastardlyHQ.org - 2024-12-09 08:25 +0000
            Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? cross@spitfire.i.gajendra.net (Dan Cross) - 2024-12-09 12:49 +0000
              Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Muttley@DastardlyHQ.org - 2024-12-09 17:06 +0000
                Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? cross@spitfire.i.gajendra.net (Dan Cross) - 2024-12-09 17:11 +0000
                Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Nicolas George <nicolas$george@salle-s.org> - 2024-12-09 17:56 +0000
        Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Muttley@DastardlyHQ.org - 2024-12-09 08:23 +0000
          Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> - 2024-12-09 09:37 +0100
            Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Muttley@DastardlyHQ.org - 2024-12-09 09:11 +0000
              Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) - 2024-12-09 14:27 +0000
              Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> - 2024-12-09 16:21 +0100
                Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Muttley@DastardlyHQ.org - 2024-12-09 17:13 +0000
                Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2024-12-10 17:57 -0500
                [meta] Harry Potter, Physics, Tools, Perception, etc. (was Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux?) Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> - 2024-12-11 03:04 +0100
                Re: [meta] Harry Potter, Physics, Tools, Perception, etc. (was Re: Text Muttley@DastardlyHQ.org - 2024-12-11 08:37 +0000
                Re: [meta] Harry Potter, Physics, Tools, Perception, etc. (was Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux?) cross@spitfire.i.gajendra.net (Dan Cross) - 2024-12-12 00:55 +0000
                Re: [meta] Harry Potter, Physics, Tools, Perception, etc. (was Re: Text Muttley@DastardlyHQ.org - 2024-12-12 08:39 +0000
                Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Muttley@DastardlyHQ.org - 2024-12-11 08:35 +0000
                Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2024-12-11 19:47 -0500
        Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2024-12-09 14:02 +0000
      Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Geoff Clare <geoff@clare.See-My-Signature.invalid> - 2024-12-09 13:45 +0000
        Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) - 2024-12-09 14:23 +0000
        Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2024-12-09 14:27 +0000
          Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Geoff Clare <geoff@clare.See-My-Signature.invalid> - 2024-12-09 15:02 +0000
        Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Nicolas George <nicolas$george@salle-s.org> - 2024-12-09 15:23 +0000
          Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Geoff Clare <geoff@clare.See-My-Signature.invalid> - 2024-12-11 13:36 +0000
        Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? vallor <vallor@cultnix.org> - 2024-12-09 19:30 +0000
          Re: Text based synchronous communication tool for Linux? Muttley@DastardlyHQ.org - 2024-12-10 08:36 +0000

csiph-web