Slack-like team chat
The first specialized chat protocols appeared long before the spread of the Internet and web browsers. IRC was developed in 1988, and before that email, mailing lists, bulletin boards, newsgroups, etc. were already working. We can say that in the mid-80s all the basic functions of network communication were already working and did not invent anything fundamentally new. However, in February 2014, Slack appeared – a specialized chat not for entertainment, but for teamwork.
Project Composition:
The only significant drawback of Slack is the lack of a corporate version that could be installed on its server. In many companies, the security policy requires the passage of all internal communications exclusively through the company’s own servers from service providers who have undergone a security audit of this company and entered into an appropriate SLA agreement for data integrity. Obviously, there is a need for a very similar product that can be installed on your server and conduct a full audit of the code.
Slack to your server
The idea of a startup appeared: implement a corporate instant messenger, similar to Slack, but on the customer’s server. To test the idea, it was decided to take one of the OpenSource chat implementations and make for it a high-quality mobile application with a user-friendly interface.
Mobile app for team messenger
In the mobile application, we have implemented a high-quality, fast and convenient interface for working with chat. At the time of implementation, this application worked faster and smoother than the official Slack application. At the same time, it contained a significant part of the functionality of its “parent” prototype.
What we did
— Interface for admins and users;
— Work with public and private channels;
— Work with files (download, list, search);
— Mentions users select from the list and backlight;
— Search with convenient filtering of results;
— Reactions to messages and counters;
— Attached to the channel and selected messages;
Integration with YouTrack
— We added the ability to quickly add tasks to the project directly from the chat, immediately setting for him the artist mentioning the user in the chat;
— Quick logging of time spent on the task. Just write a short command in the chat and the time counts. This is faster than opening a project tracker.
Install the messenger
When you start using a new service like Slack or Trello, he usually asks just to enter the project name and e-mail, and then the magic happens and you open your own separate copy of the system. In fact, inside the service, complex processes occurred that resemble the installation of Windows on a disk: the Docker image of the system was cloned, a separate subdomain was attached to it (Internet address) and access rights to your email address. Here we also made this system for our chat.
The Result App
As a result of the project, we performed the following work:
- Design for two platforms (65 screens);
- Design;
- Programming under iOS;
- Programming for Android;
- Refinement of the server part of the source open source project;
- Integration with YouTrack;
- Installer