In the second experimental release of the client for instant messaging Pidgin 3.0 (2.91), users can simultaneously work in several networks with different protocols and switch between chats using tabs. This release is considered to have the level of quality of the preliminary alpha version and is not designed for everyday use. The assemblies are prepared in Flatpak format and are currently available only as an archive with the code. More details can be found here.
Pidgin 3 has been in development since 2011, with three years of discussion at the concept and idea level before that. This new version includes transitions to the Gobject type system, GTK4 and Adwaita libraries, Meson assembly system, GPLugin for processing plugins, SQLite for storing chat history, and GSETTINGS for working with settings. The API has been completely redesigned. GTK Builder XML is used to determine interface elements and the chat history is displayed using its own widget library called talkatu.
The interface of Pidgin 3 combines a list of contacts and chat windows in one window. The supply of the FINCH console client has been stopped. However, the IRCV3 protocol is maintained, while new implementations of XMPP and Bonjour protocols are in development. Pidgin 3 is incompatible with Pidgin 2 and previously created plugins, but can be installed in parallel with Pidgin 2. More information about the development roadmap of Pidgin 3 can be viewed here.
Some of the changes in the presented update include sorting the list of participants based on powers, adding support for search in the list of participants, basic notifications of new messages, and support for formatting messages in IRC. Images depicting these changes can be viewed here,
