Client-server command-line application built with Python using TCP unicast sockets for Computer Networks class.
- Owen Edwards
- Elias Weitfle
- Viet Ton
- Enter the directory where the Python files live in the terminal. E.g. for me it's
C:\Users\owen1\Downloads\Computer Networks CS4065\Projects\Programming Assignment 2\backendso I would set my directory in PowerShell using:
Set-Location "C:\Users\owen1\Downloads\Computer Networks CS4065\Projects\Programming Assignment 2\backend"NOTE: if you don't have python3, you can install it here: https://www.python.org/downloads/
Then you can validate the install by typing this into any terminal (in Windows):
python3 --version
- Run the client using python3 (again, make sure you're in the directory where the other python files live):
python3 .\socket_client.py
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Enter the username you wish to use for the client
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Run the server using python3 in another terminal session (again, make sure you're in the directory where the other python files live, you might need to set your location to where the python files live):
Set-Location "C:\Users\owen1\Downloads\Computer Networks CS4065\Projects\Programming Assignment 2\backend"
python3 .\socket_server.py- Now go back to the client terminal session and connect to the server:
%connect localhost 5000
- (Optional) You can join with multiple clients (up to 5) by repeating steps 1-3 and 5 (you can skip step 4 since there's already a server running)
- How to post a message to public bulletin board (example below has a subject and content):
%post message subject | message content
- How to post a group message to a private board you've joined (example below has a group_id, subject, and content):
%grouppost 1 subject | message content
- All other special input commands should be the same as the instructions from the assignment:
- Broadcasting to the client upon joins, leaves, and posts was not as intuitive.
- I wanted to separate the private boards and the public board to track the group_id on private boards.
- We accomplished broadcasting by creating a separate thread on the client that's always listening for signal interrupts (a concept I learned in OS about interprocess communication) and a thread on the server for sending to the client (since we're using unicast sockets, one connection each). Each signal signifies a message being sent.
- Although BulletinBoard (the main public board) and PrivateBoard (the multiple private group boards) are very similar, PrivateBoard has a group_id associated with it. Although there's more overhead by instantiating objects of these classes, I think it's better system design because of separation of concern.
bulletin_board.py: Core logic for the bulletin board system. Handles the structure of groups, messages, and user management within the application. This script interacts with the socket server to manage user activities.private_board.py: Core logic for the private chat rooms. Similar functionality to main bulletin board but in separate file for separation of concern.socket_client.py: Client application for connecting to the bulletin board server. Handles user input, sends commands, and processes responses from the server.socket_protocol.py: Defines the message protocol for communication between the client and the server. This handles message formatting and parsing.socket_server.py: Manages the socket server setup, including binding the socket to a host and port, accepting connections, and dispatching messages between clients and thebulletin_board.py.
test_bulletin_board.py: Test cases for validating public bulletin board system logic.test_private_board.py: Test cases for validating private bulletin board system logic.test_socket_client.py: Test cases for validating the client application.test_socket_protocol.py: Test cases for validating the message protocol.test_socket_server.py: Test cases for validating the server application.