Python TCP Chatroom

Python chatroom implementation that connects users to a server over a specified port and allows them to send and receive messages.

Contents:

• server.py: Server class models a server that listens on a specified port for incoming messages from clients.

• client.py: User class models a user connecting to a chatroom's server on a specified port.

Logic:

Server On instantiation of the Server class a server socket is created and binded to the provided IP Address and Port Number. The Server class contains 3 methods:

• handle(client): continuously receives data from the clients and broadcasts that to every client that is connected to the server. If a client disconnects the client will be removed from the clients list
• broadcast(message): sends the message to each client connected to the server. All the clients that connect are stored in a clients list.
• receive(): continuously listens for clients that connect to the server. If a client connects the server will send an initial message to the client requesting a nickname to be used chatroom. After the client replies with the nickname the server will add the client object to the client list and the nickname to a nickname list

User On instantiation of the User class a client socket is created and the nickname provided as an argument is stored in an instance variable. The User class contains 4 methods:

• connect(host, port): connects to the server on the host and port provided
• receive(): continuously listens for incoming data. If the message is the nickname request from the server the client will respond with a chosen nickname to be used in the chatroom. If not the messages received will be printed
• write(): sends messages to the server
• join(): creates, binds and starts two separate threads for receiving and writing

constants Store variables used as constants:

• MAGIC: the message sent by the server to the client requesting a nickname
• ENCODING: the encoding method used to encode and decode messages
• HOST_NAME: server host name
• PORT: server port