Android wifi device discovery and messaging

Question

I'd like to make a little experiment with an Android app.

I have several android devices and I'd like to make an app to chat between devices without knowing the specific IP of each devices, just discovering every device wich have my app installed. So, basically there are two main questions here:

Is there any Android tool, library or example about how implement device discovery over a local wifi network?
What is the best way for sending data from one Android device to another? Again, is there any tool, library or example that could serve as a guide?

Also, I'd like my app to run on Android 2.2+

Any ideas? Thank You!

possible duplicate of [Bonjour implementation on Android](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4656379/bonjour-implementation-on-android) — Greg Hewgill, May 21 '13 at 02:08
Not quite a duplicate as Bonjour is but one possibility, but that question is definitely worth reading for reference. — Chris Stratton, May 21 '13 at 02:09

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered May 21 '13 at 02:12

1

On Android, use Network Service Discovery. If you're using an earlier target, jmDNS is your friend. I have only used this to allow android devices to find each other, but this should be compatible with bonjour service.

answered May 21 '13 at 02:12

323go

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Seems like jmDNS can help with the discovery of the devices, I'm checking it out, thank you. – Kelvin De Moya May 22 '13 at 02:21
Enjoy! Don't forget to acquire a multicast lock on the device you want to make discoverable. – 323go May 22 '13 at 04:43

thiagolr · Answer 2 · 2013-05-22T18:56:50.130

0

You can use DIAL (DIscover And Launch):

http://www.dial-multiscreen.org/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01/28/dial_youtube_netflix/

The same is used on YouTube and Netflix.

EDIT:

This solves your problem #1, then you will have the other's phone IP address and you could open a socket to communicate with it, solving problem #2.

edited May 22 '13 at 18:56

answered May 21 '13 at 13:07

thiagolr

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I believe that one doesn't allow me to achieve what I'm looking for, but it looks very interesting, thank you. – Kelvin De Moya May 22 '13 at 02:22
@thiagolr, but he said he doesnt know the specific IP address. (look at the main question). He want to discover first the devices using wifi. – gumuruh Jul 06 '14 at 05:49
DIAL is used to discover other devices on the same network... you don't need to know the specific IP address! – thiagolr Jul 06 '14 at 13:19

Android wifi device discovery and messaging

2 Answers2