java-server-with-clients

Multi-client server in Java using sockets

☕ Java Multi-Client Chat Server

A multithreaded TCP chat application built in Java. The server supports multiple clients connecting simultaneously, private messaging, user exclusion from messages, and banned phrases filtering — all configurable via a .txt file.

---

Project Structure

 ```bash java-server-with-clients/ ├── src/ │ ├── Server/ │ │ └── Server.java │ ├── Client/ │ │ └── Client.java ├── server_config.txt ├── README.md ``` 

---

Features

• Multithreaded server: handles many clients in parallel
• Private messages: /to <username> <message>
• Exclusion-based broadcast: /exclude <username> <message>
• Banned phrases: messages containing banned words are blocked
• Configurable setup via server_config.txt
• Client list announcement on join
• Based on Java Sockets API for TCP communication

---

Technologies Used

• Java SE 8+
• Java I/O & Networking (java.io, java.net)
• Threads & Synchronization
• Properties & File Configuration

---

⚙ Configuration File: server_config.txt

Example:

port=1515 serverName=ChatZone bannedPhrases=spam,ads,curse

---

How to Run

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/Desstori15/java-server-with-clients.git
cd java-server-with-clients
2. Compile the server & client
javac src/Server/Server.java
javac src/Client/Client.java
3. Start the server
java src.Server.Server server_config.txt
4. Start one or more clients in new terminals
java src.Client.Client
🧠 Example Commands (Client)

/to John Hello! → Send private message to user John
/exclude Mike Hello all (except Mike)! → Broadcast excluding one user
/banned → View the list of banned phrases
🔐 Banned Phrase Filtering

If a user sends a message containing any banned phrase (defined in server_config.txt), the message is blocked and a warning is shown.

💡 What I Learned

Java networking with ServerSocket and Socket
Real-time input/output using BufferedReader and PrintWriter
Managing concurrent clients with threads
Centralized server configuration through .txt files
Designing simple communication protocols
🙋‍♂️ Author

Vladislav Dobriyan
@Desstori15