Making a Chat TCP IPv4 POSIX socket

We’ll build a chat on LAN, after using a centralized tunneling service we communicate them on the Internet and share them with decentralized tunneling after.

LAN chat

We don’t develop two files, one for a client, and another for a server. The same process should be client and server.

So, it means that the socket tries to start a connection with a peer connection, when it fails then it waits until a peer connection sends a signal.

if (connection) {
   // I am peer client, it sent a signal to peer.
} else {
  // I am peer server, I wait until a peer sends a signal
}

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> SocketCreation
    SocketCreation --> SocketConnection: if argc == 3
    SocketCreation --> SocketBinding: if argc == 1
    SocketConnection --> SocketBinding: connection failed
    SocketConnection --> PassiveSocket: successful connection 
    PassiveSocket --> [*]
    SocketBinding --> SocketListening
    SocketListening --> SocketAccepting
    SocketAccepting --> ActiveSocket
    Error --> [*]
    ActiveSocket --> [*]

When two peers are connected, they can send and receive messages from different threads.

From peer 1. It is a passive socket.

From peer 2. It is an active socket.

Peer 2 sends a message to peer 1

Peer 1 sends a message to peer 2

Your chat on the Internet with centralized tunnels.

You must install ngrok in order to make a tunnel over the Internet. Now, use its command, where [PORT] is the passive socket port.

ngrok TCP [PORT]

And now the active socket port connects to passive internet using the IP and port provided by ngrok.

ping [uri] # where [uri] is the ngrok provided

And now we connect them

Ready!

Repository

Compilation

make

Use

A passive socket is

./chat.out

An active socket is

./chat.out [SERVER PORT] [PORT]