Distributed Chat Application (TCP/IP)

A simple and high-performance distributed chat application built using Go. The application demonstrates real-time communication between clients and a central server using TCP/IP. It showcases core concepts of distributed systems, network programming, concurrency, and client-server architecture.

---

🚀 Features

• Real-time Messaging: Clients can send and receive messages instantly through the server.
• Multiple Clients: The server supports multiple simultaneous client connections.
• Concurrency: The server uses goroutines to handle multiple client connections concurrently.
• Client-Server Communication: Uses TCP sockets for reliable communication between clients and the server.
• Scalable Architecture: Designed for easy expansion, such as adding chat rooms or user authentication.
• Containerized with Docker: The project is containerized using Docker for easy deployment.

---

🛠️ Technologies Used

• Go (Golang): For building the server and client applications.
• TCP/IP: For network communication between the client and server.
• Docker: For containerizing the client and server to simplify deployment.
• Bash: For automating build, run, and test processes with shell scripts.

---

🔧 Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

• Go (1.19 or higher) - To build and run the application.
• Docker - To run the server and client inside containers (optional but recommended).

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/distributed-chat.git
cd distributed-chat

2. Install Dependencies

Make sure you have Go installed. Run the following command to install any missing dependencies.

go mod tidy

3. Build the Application

Run the build.sh script to build both the server and client binaries.

./scripts/build.sh

4. Run the Application Locally

Run the run.sh script to start both the server and client locally.

./scripts/run.sh

This will start the server in the background and open the client interface.

5. Run with Docker (Optional)

You can also use Docker to run the server and client as containers. To do so:

1. Build the Docker images:

   docker-compose build

2. Start the application:

   docker-compose up

This will start both the server and client in separate containers. The server will listen on port 8080, and the client will connect to the server.

---

📈 Future Enhancements

• Authentication: Add basic authentication (e.g., login, password) for users.
• Chat Rooms: Allow clients to join specific chat rooms.
• Message History: Store messages in a database for retrieving chat history.
• Encryption: Implement SSL/TLS for secure communication between client and server.
• WebSocket Support: Extend the application with WebSocket support for real-time communication in a web-based interface.

---

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

---

💬 Contributing

If you want to contribute to this project, feel free to fork the repository, create a branch, and submit a pull request. Contributions are always welcome!

---

🏷️ Contact

For any questions or suggestions, you can reach out to me at avik.quantum24@gmail.com.

---

Enjoy coding! 🚀