Getting a Jabber status via Python

Question

I'm developing a website using the Django framework, and I need to retrieve Jabber (okay, Google Talk) statuses for a user. Most of the Jabber python libraries seem like an incredible amount of overkill (and overhead) for a simple task. Is there any simple way to do this?

I know very little about XMPP/Jabber, though of course I'm willing to learn. Do you need to be an authenticated and "friended" user to retrieve another user's status?

Answer 1

I recommend checking out Google AppEngine's XMPP API (Django runs on AppEngine, too). AFAIK you have to be authorized to check a user's status.

Answer 2

Do you need to be an authenticated and "friended" user to retrieve another user's status?

Yes.

To get the status of a given user, you should write a jabber bot and the user should add your bot as a friend. Then you would be able to get the status of that user. FriendFeed and other services do that.

Google Buzz is from Google, so they already have access to your chat status...