README.md

basic-chat-server

Basic TCP chat server using the Twisted asynchronous I/O framework.

Features :-

1. User registration and login (using a PLAIN TEXT password).
2. DB persistence for user information and messages (SQLite).
3. User > User and Broadcast messaging.
4. Convenient DB operations using a light weight SQLite helper.
5. Tracks last login/logout time and online status of a user.

Usage :

Setup :

1. Clone the repository

2. Set up a python virtual envrionment and activate it (https://realpython.com/blog/python/python-virtual-environments-a-primer/)

3. Install dependencies using the following command

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Run the server using

   python chatserver.py

5. Connect clients by typing this on a terminal

   telnet <address> <port>

6. Enter username and password as follows. First time registers you, second onwards logs you in.

   Enter

   1. username:password to login or register

   OR

   2. .quit to exit

   Input : michael:1234

   Registration successful. Welcome michael

   1 other users are online

   Enter target_user>message to send a message

7. Enter target>message to send a message to the target username.

• Default value for < port > is 1236.

• < address > can be localhost if connecting from the same machine.

Simulating clients : (Because why not?)

After starting the server, run sim_client.py to simulate a number of clients. Internally, client auth is read from a configuration file (sim_users.json is the default).

Database :

The server creates and uses a SQLite database (default name is storage.db) for storing user information and messages.

Known limitations

The following, though easy enough, have not been implemented yet.

1. Changing passwords.
2. Viewing inbox, sent messages and other views.
3. Message groups.
4. Offline messaging.

by [email protected]