j-Chat is J's Java chat system. Both the j-Chat server and client run in a Java 1.1 environment.

Features of j-Chat include:

• Support for multiple hosts through ip addresses or aliases
• Support for an unlimited number of chat rooms for each host
• Access control to chat rooms through user id and password
• Unlimited (theoretically) number of users per chat room
• Client will run from a web page or as a standalone application.
• Dynamically updates lists of people in a room as they enter and leave Users can be in multiple chat rooms at the same time Logs generated of all chats in all rooms

On the server side, j-Chat has been tested with OS/2 Warp 4.0, Java 1.1.4 and Windows NT 4.0 Server, ServicePak 3, Java 1.1

On the client side, j-Chat has been tested with Netscape Navigator 2.02 for OS/2 Warp with Java 1.1.4 support Netscape Communicator or Navigator 4.03 with the Java 1.1 Fix Internet Explorer 4.0

These are the only tested environments, but j-Chat should work on any Java 1.1 compatible JVM or JRE.

In v1.0, configuration is done by modifying several text files. A host file identifies the host names that the system should respond to. For each host, there is a room file that lists the name of each room along with a boolean flag to identify whether or not the room is password protected, and for each password protected room, there is a user id and password file. An administration applet is planned for future versions of the system.