Active Data Online WebChat is a Windows compatible program that is powered by Microsoft .NET (v 1.1.4322). Unlike traditional chat systems, which use UDP or TCP and comprise a proprietary broadcast server and a proprietary client (typically an ActiveX or a Java applet embedded in a web browser), WebChat uses HTTP, an ASP.NET web server, a relational database, and a standard web browser. In essence, with WebChat the client pulls information from the server (here, IIS and a database); with most other systems, the server pushes information to the client. Naturally, there are pro's and con's for both kinds of text-based chat systems, but one of the primary benefits of adopting the client-pull approach is that users won't have to download and install ActiveX's, .NET Windows Forms, or Java applets. In this way, WebChat is a true Web chat system.
