New WS Arena Version 0.5 has been released

New WS Arena Version 0.5 has been released.
WS Arena is a XMPP platform that allows sets of applications to multiplex streaming messages of any content type. It allows groups of applications to work together more efficiently as it acts as an interconnect.

Messaging can be accomplished asynchronously cross networks in real time. Supported transport modes include WS-to-WS, WS-to-XMPP, and XMPP-to-XMPP.

New in this release, external server peer-to-peer-like networking.

WS Arena will now try to connect to and/or listener for connections from a set of other WS Arena servers as listed in a predefined properties file that is reloaded periodically by the server.
If a new external server is found after WS Arena has been started, an attempt will be made to connect to it.

When messages or requests are received for users not listed in a given WS Arena's user accounts properties file, the server will send such messages and/or requests to all of the external servers listed in its external servers properties file for which it has a current connection.

In WS Arena, multi user sessions are embodied in the concept of an "Arena". Each Arena is associated with a named title that can be used as a JID. Each Arena is also associated with a set of members equivalent to contacts and each member has an associated permission type for that Arena.
Allowed permission types are:

* receive - member can only receive messages from the Arena owner.

* reply - receive and can reply to Arena owner.

* broadcast - receive and reply to entire Arena membership.

For now, WS Arena user accounts are set in the WS Arena server through a properties file that is reloaded periodically by the server.

Any Arena can have all communications addressed to it redirected to a runtime specified web service endpoint and its members can also specify web service endpoints for replies when they join a given Arena.