Aaron Cowley Chat Server for Project 2 IT 347

Project Requirements: Project 2: Web Server with Chat Room Objective

Give experience with socket programming and with Client and Server program patterns. Gain experience with HTTP and HTML client-server pattern.

Allowed implementation platforms: What ever programming language you choose Specifications

The main goal is to create an HTTP-based chat room that is accessed through a web browser. You will build a simple web server that can display HTML and JPG files and also provides a special "resource" called "/CHAT" that will invoke your web-based chat server. httpd Server

Example Page: HTTP Chat Room

Open a Listener on TCP port 9020 that speaks the HTTP protocol ie (run your implemented http server on port 9020), allow 20 connections.
Implement an HTTP web server that:
    has a GET command that works with files and directories. A directory should return a HTML page with links for all the files in the directory.
    defaults to /index.html for a resource on your server.
    has a magic resource /CHAT ?name=<name>&line=<chat line> command that sends <chat line> to your chat room and returns its contents HTML format.
When you receive a connection:
    Display a chat form that gets the name of the participant
    Create a connection state data structure for each connection.
    Use some asynchronous method (either threads or asynchronous I/O) to make sure all of the connections are being serviced all the time. Also make sure that the queue data structure is protected from asynchronous errors... i.e. make sure it is "thread safe" if it is required.
    Each command that you implement should start a thread to do the command, close the socket and exit.

Chat form:

Create an HTML form named "chatform.html" with fields for name and the chat text with a send button that invokes your chat resource letting the user fill in the name and chat. At each action should update the history window on the form.

That is, an HTML form that sends the "name" and "chatLine" variables after the ? on the GET /CHAT line in URL format and the server responds with HTML formatted messages from the chat room.

Read this: http tutorial Procedure:

Build the server and test it using "localhost" and a web browser with your form, some files to get.
You must connect with multiple browser windows at the same time.
Open it up on an external IP address (i.e., a 192 in the lab) and demonstrate with external machines.
Test your server with two browsers.

Grading:

(50) Show threading/ASYNC I/O model and explain how your server services multiple, simultaneous connections.
(50) Interview with student:
    Demonstrate clear understanding the code and be able to explain it to the instructor or TA.
    (5) GET of text file
    (5) GET "/CHAT" works
    (20) GET of JPG and GIF (or any other MIME type the browser accepts)
    (20) Auto update works even when the user hasn't submitted anything
(50) Writeup
    Write up what tools and libraries you used, what problems you encountered, and how you fixed them.
    (10) Project description and architecture (how are things structured and why?)
    Put all code in the appendix.
        (10) Analysis of implementation issues (what were your bugs and how did you find them?).
        (10) Code structure and readability
        (10) Grammar and readability.
(up to 50) Extra Credit. Examples:
    Add multiple chat rooms and change chat form to include chatroom name on the form.
    Include user management in the chat room, authenticate, list users currently connected
    If a user hasn't been accessed for 30 minutes, disconnect it.
    Well designed chat page UI improvements.

Pass-off

Start your server on a machine and have two of your classmates connect with browsers and their forms to chat along with yourself (3 clients). Have the TA or instructor watch your demo and provide a score as defined above. Due DEC 8