AppleInsider reports on an interesting piece recently published by Apple to Developers regarding some of Leopard's underlying features.
The particular piece covers the iChat 4.0 Instant Message Framework, and how developers can hook into the framework to add functionality to their own apps.
AppleInsider uses one example, in which the developer can determine through the IM Framework whether a specific instant message user is online and start an iChat theatre session to share video or any audio video content.
"One of the powerful capabilities that the Instant Message framework gives you is the ability to determine if a contact in a user's buddy list is online or not. You can also get the Address Book data for that contact as well as other status information," wrote Apple. "This information is collectively referred to as 'presence.' And once you tap into this presence data, your application can be notified when information about a contact changes."
Apple's article also covers a class called IMAVManager which sits at the heart of iChat Theatre, the class allows developers to present slide shows, a video feed, and 3D graphics through iChat to a recipient.
"IMAVManager works with the other classes in the Instant Message framework to enable you to build sophisticated conferencing capabilities into your application," Apple said. "For example, you can use IMService to determine who is available to participate in a chat, and then use IMAVManager to setup and run the iChat Theater presentation."