RIT Client-Server Application

Introduction

This project is a work-in-progress implementation of a basic client-server application using TCP/IP communication in C++. The client can send messages to the server, which processes them and sends back responses.

Features

Client:

• Connect to server via IP address and port.
• Send text messages to the server.
• Receive responses from the server.
• Automatic reconnection on connection loss.

Server:

• Handle multiple client connections simultaneously.
• Parse incoming messages and count the occurrence of different letters.
• Provide the number of current connections upon request.
• Enable communication between clients through the server.
• Offer shutdown functionality.

Technical Details

• Programming Language: C++
• Build System: CMake and Make
• Unit Testing: Google Test
• Integration Testing: Python
• Code Coverage: gcovr
• Documentation: Doxygen

Dependencies

• Linux operating system or MacOS
• C++ compiler
• CMake and Make
• Google Test
• Python3 and pytest

Building and Running

Building with Make:

note: all commands should be executed from the project root directory

1. Clone the repository.
2. Navigate to the project directory.
3. Build the project: make

Running the Server:

1. Execute the server binary with the desired port: build/server <port> [silent]
   • The silent option disables server console output.

Running the Client:

1. In a separate terminal, run the client binary: build/client <server_ip> <server_port>

Running Tests:

1. Build and run automatic tests with make test. Code is also statically analyzed with cppcheck then make test is used
2. Check code coverage with make coverage
3. Check memory leaks with make leaks
4. Build and run manual tests with make debug_run

Generating Documentation:

1. Generate the documentation with make docs
2. The documentation will be generated in the docs directory.
3. Open the index.html file in the docs/html directory to view the documentation.

Installing:

• Because the project is a work-in-progress, it is not yet available for installation. However, you can still use it by building and running the project.

Example Usage

Basic Client-Server Communication:

1. Start the server on port 8080: build/server 8080
2. In another terminal, connect a client: build/client 127.0.0.1 8080
3. Type a message in the client, such as "Hello, world!".
4. The server will respond with the count of each letter:

H |1
e |1
l |3
o |2
, |1
  |1
w |1
r |1
d |1
! |1

Client-to-Client Communication:

1. Connect two clients to the server.
2. In one client, send a message to the other client using the format: send <client_id> message
   • For example: send <client_2> Hi there!
3. The other client will receive the message: client_1: Hi there!
4. The client can also send a message to itself using the command: send <self> message.

• Do not forget to use the < and > symbols to enclose the client ID.

Server Commands:

• show list: Display a list of connected clients with their IDs.
• show number: Show the number of currently connected clients.
• shutdown: Shut down the server gracefully.

Future Development

• Implement command line editing and commands history for the client.
• Add support for file transfer between clients.
• Enhance security features with encryption and authentication.
• Explore other communication protocols like UDP.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit pull requests or open issues for bug reports and feature suggestions.