Distributed Systems

Electronic Food Marketplace Simulator

Author: Conor Egan

---

1. Project Overview

This project is a Java-based simulation of an electronic food marketplace. It uses a multithreaded client-server architecture built with TCP sockets to allow multiple buyers to connect concurrently to a single seller and purchase items.

The system features:

• A thread-per-connection model on the server.
• Synchronized, atomic access to shared resources (market inventory) to prevent race conditions.
• A broadcast mechanism to notify all connected clients of market updates in real-time.

---

2. Directory Structure

The project is organized using a standard Java package structure:

• FoodMarketplace/
  • src/
    • marketplace/
      • SellerServer.java
      • BuyerHandler.java
      • Marketplace.java
      • BuyerClient.java
      • ServerListener.java
      • Config.java
  • marketplace/
  • config.properties
  • README.md
  • .gitignore

---

3. Compilation and Execution Instructions

Prerequisites

• Java Development Kit (JDK) 11 or later.

Step 1: Compile the Code

Open a terminal in the root FoodMarketplace directory and run the following command to compile all source files:

javac -d . src/marketplace/*.java

This will create a marketplace directory in the root containing the compiled .class files.

Step 2: Run the Seller Server

In a new terminal, from the root FoodMarketplace directory, start the server:

java -cp . marketplace.SellerServer

The server will start and begin listening for client connections on the port specified in config.properties.

Step 3: Run the Buyer Clients

For each buyer you wish to simulate, open a new, separate terminal. From the root FoodMarketplace directory, run the following command:

java -cp . marketplace.BuyerClient

A new client will connect to the server. You can now interact with the marketplace using the following commands in the client terminal:

• list: Shows the currently available item and stock.
• buy : Attempts to buy the specified quantity of the current item (e.g., buy 2).
• quit: Disconnects from the server.