Simple Chat Application

Overview

This project implements a simple chat application with a server and client component. It allows multiple users to connect to a central server and exchange messages in a chatroom-like environment.

Components

1. Chat Server (UDP/TCP)
2. Chat Client (UDP/TCP)

Features

• Multi-client support
• Passcode-protected server access
• Real-time message broadcasting
• Special client commands for expressing emotions and time-related messages
• Server-side client listing

Requirements

• C++11 compatible compiler
• POSIX-compliant system (Linux, macOS, etc.)
• pthread library

Compilation

make

Usage

Start Server

./chatserver_[tcp/udp] --start --port <port_number> --passcode <passcode>

• port_number: Must be between 5000 and 7000
• passcode: Required for client authentication

Join Client

./chatclient_[tcp/udp] --join --host <hostname> --port <port_number> --username <username> --passcode <passcode>

• hostname: Usually "localhost" or "127.0.0.1" for local testing
• port_number: Same as the server's port
• username: Your desired chat username
• passcode: Same as the server's passcode