Decibel is a new communication framework for KDE Software Compilation 4, the current major release of the KDE

KDE

KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...

 desktop environment

Desktop environment

In graphical computing, a desktop environment commonly refers to a style of graphical user interface derived from the desktop metaphor that is seen on most modern personal computers. These GUIs help the user in easily accessing, configuring, and modifying many important and frequently accessed...

. Decibel aims to integrate all communication protocols into the desktop. As of now users have all their contacts in different applications: AOL

AOL Instant Messenger

AOL Instant Messenger is an instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time. It was released by AOL in May 1997...

, MSN

Windows Live Messenger

Windows Live Messenger is an instant messaging client created by Microsoft that is currently designed to work with Windows XP , Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Mobile, Windows CE, Xbox 360, Blackberry OS, iOS, Java ME, S60 on Symbian OS 9.x and Zune HD...

, E-mail

E-mail

Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...

, Skype

Skype

Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...

, etc. Decibel will store all contacts in one place and make it easier for the user to manage and communicate with his/her contacts.

For example Alice

Alice and Bob

The names Alice and Bob are commonly used placeholder names for archetypal characters in fields such as cryptography and physics. The names are used for convenience; for example, "Alice sends a message to Bob encrypted with his public key" is easier to follow than "Party A sends a message to Party...

 wants to talk to Bob

Alice and Bob

The names Alice and Bob are commonly used placeholder names for archetypal characters in fields such as cryptography and physics. The names are used for convenience; for example, "Alice sends a message to Bob encrypted with his public key" is easier to follow than "Party A sends a message to Party...

. Alice requests to start a connection to Bob and a service manager takes in the requests and chooses the best way to communicate to Bob (depending on telephone number, e-mail address, etc.), and opens up a connection to Bob. This way, Alice can contact her friends no matter what protocol they are using.

Currently the Decibel project is unmaintained, but the integration of Telepathy into KDE is still very active.

Features

Decibel functions as a desktop agnostic daemon which uses the Telepathy protocol for communication protocols, adding features to reduce the effort and complexity needed to integrate real time communication into applications. Like Telepathy, Decibel offers services using D-Bus

D-Bus

In computing, D-Bus is a simple inter-process communication open-source system for software applications to communicate with one another. Heavily influenced by KDE2–3's DCOP system, D-Bus has replaced DCOP in the KDE 4 release. An implementation of D-Bus supports most POSIX operating...

, so any D-Bus aware application can take advantage of Decibel's services. Decibel is able to manage desktop specific actions, protocol configuration and account management. Desktop specific actions include launching GUIs written in the desktop native toolkit

Toolkit

A toolkit is an assembly of tools; set of basic building units for graphical user interfaces.Things called toolkits include:* Abstract Window Toolkit* Accessibility Toolkit* Adventure Game Toolkit* B-Toolkit* Battlefield Mod Development Toolkit...

, like Qt

Qt (toolkit)

Qt is a cross-platform application framework that is widely used for developing application software with a graphical user interface , and also used for developing non-GUI programs such as command-line tools and consoles for servers...

 or GTK+

GTK+

GTK+ is a cross-platform widget toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces. It is licensed under the terms of the GNU LGPL, allowing both free and proprietary software to use it. It is one of the most popular toolkits for the X Window System, along with Qt.The name GTK+ originates from GTK;...

, or using the desktop's Personal Information Manager

Personal information manager

A personal information manager is a type of application software that functions as a personal organizer. The acronym PIM is now, more commonly, used in reference to Personal information management as a field of study...

 to store passwords and other account information.

Use in KDE 4

Decibel was not ready for the release of KDE 4.2. Both Kopete

Kopete

Kopete is a multi-protocol, free software instant messaging client. Although it can run in numerous environments, it was designed for and integrates with the KDE desktop environment...

 and Pidgin

Pidgin (software)

Pidgin is an open-source multi-platform instant messaging client, based on a library named libpurple. Libpurple has support for many commonly used instant messaging protocols, allowing the user to log into various services from one application.The number of Pidgin users was estimated to be over 3...

will make their current protocols available through the Telepathy specification while official telepathy components mature.

External links

• Decibel homepage on KDE techbase