Features: As many users can chat (Text messaging only) at a time at one single place. Private messaging (single user to a single user in the group chat) is optional.

Suggested Flow: User will be asked to provide a nick to enter a chat room. After providing the nick user will be redirected to chat room. You can make interface just like Yahoo Chat or any other in which all the users in the room would be listed along with their messages which they are sending. User would be able to send a message through some text box. When user’s request would reach server his/her message would be put into the db along with the nick. All you need to do is to query the db for getting messages and displaying them on the page. You may set a refresh rate (Using JavaScript to refresh the page after some seconds) to get latest messages.

You would be encouraged if you used AJAX to send and receive your request, which will prevent your chat room page to be fully refreshed. Its very simple takes a look at this tutorial

(www.w3schools.com/ajax ).

Concepts Involved:

v     Databases

v     JSP or Servlets

v     JavaScript or AJAX

v     Exception handling

v     String Manipulation