xmpp

[him jain]

Hello,
My requirement is development of a chat engine - including server, clients etc. Currently I am working on things at my desktop only but once done, I have to host it; basically incorporate it with in a site for chatting purpose. So, now my problem is:

I am not clear about how the actual data flow is? I have googled and read about xmpp (a book by Peter Andre) also but I am not clear about the flow and what are the actual requirementsto do the above mentioned task. What I currently know is:

1) I need a server - so selected ejabberd

2) I need client - still not sure which one to use and one other doubt is how this client thing will work when deployed on some website for chatting purpose.

3) Some library - dont know which one and what is the purpose?