Which of the following is an instant messaging application ? (a) WhatsApp (b)…
2015
Which of the following is an instant messaging application ?
(a) WhatsApp
(b) Google Talk
(c) Viber
Select the correct answer from the codes given below :
Answer: D. (a), (b) and (c) — ConceptAn instant messaging (IM) application is software whose core service is a real-time, back-and-forth text conversation between two or more users carried…
- A.
(a) and (b) only
- B.
(b) and (c) only
- C.
(a) only
- D.
(a), (b) and (c)
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept
An instant messaging (IM) application is software whose core service is a real-time, back-and-forth text conversation between two or more users carried over an IP (internet) connection. Three features define the category: messages are delivered within seconds while both parties stay in a live session, the software keeps presence information (online, last seen, typing), and the exchange happens over the internet rather than over a telecom carrier's message channel.
The definition is a test applied to each application on its own, and any number of applications can pass it at the same time. Extra capabilities such as voice calls, video calls or file sharing do not remove an application from the category, because the category is fixed by the messaging service the application provides, not by the size of its feature list. In a codes-format question the correct code is therefore the one that names exactly the applications that pass the test.
Application
Apply the three-part test to each listed application:
Application | Provider and launch | Core service |
|---|---|---|
WhatsApp Inc., 2009 | Real-time one-to-one and group text chat over an internet data connection, with online or last-seen presence and delivery receipts. | |
Google Talk | Google, 2005 | Real-time text chat on the XMPP protocol inside Gmail and a desktop client, with contact presence status. |
Viber | Viber Media, 2010 | Real-time one-to-one and group text chat over an internet data connection, alongside internet voice and video calls. |
All three pass every part of the test: each keeps a live session, each shows presence, and each carries its messages over the internet. So all three belong to the instant messaging category, and the code that names WhatsApp, Google Talk and Viber together is the one that matches.
Cross-check
Email is not instant messaging: it is a store-and-forward service with no live session and no presence, so a message sits in a mailbox until the recipient opens it.
Plain SMS is not instant messaging either: it travels over the mobile carrier's signalling channel rather than over an IP connection, and it carries no presence information.
Voice and video calling inside Viber and WhatsApp is an added service layered on top of the messaging service; it neither creates nor cancels instant messaging status, so it does not change the classification.
Result: WhatsApp, Google Talk and Viber are all instant messaging applications, so the correct code is the one covering (a), (b) and (c).