Farstream

Farstream is a deprecated open-source framework for audio and video conferencing and collaboration, primarily targeted at the GNOME desktop environment. It aims to simplify the development of VoIP and video conferencing applications by providing a high-level API for session management, codec negotiation, and media handling. Farstream is built on top of the GStreamer multimedia framework, leveraging its capabilities for encoding, decoding, and streaming audio and video data.

Key Features and Characteristics:

• Abstraction Layer: Farstream provides an abstraction layer over the complexities of multimedia conferencing protocols like Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP). This abstraction simplifies the development process for applications that need to integrate conferencing capabilities.
• GStreamer Integration: The core of Farstream relies on GStreamer for handling media encoding, decoding, and streaming. This allows Farstream to support a wide range of audio and video codecs.
• Session Management: Farstream offers functionalities for managing conference sessions, including call initiation, joining existing sessions, and handling call termination.
• Codec Negotiation: The framework includes mechanisms for automatically negotiating suitable audio and video codecs between participants in a conference, ensuring compatibility and optimal performance.
• GNOME Integration: Farstream was specifically designed to integrate well with the GNOME desktop environment, providing a consistent user experience for GNOME-based applications.
• Deprecation: While historically significant, Farstream is considered largely deprecated. Active development has ceased, and alternative solutions, such as PipeWire and more direct GStreamer implementations, are generally preferred for modern conferencing applications on Linux. Its design influence can still be seen in some contemporary multimedia frameworks.