Anax IM Application

A simple instant message application, for the command line.

Source Code

• /src/im/client - Contains the code for the client side of instant messaging
• /src/im/server - Contains the code for instant messaging

Installation

TODO

HOW TO USE?

CONTENTS

1. Brief
   • A brief description of what the Anax IM Application is about
2. Tutorial
   • A simple tutorial to help get you started
3. Appendices
   • Appendix A - Commands
   • Appendix B - Command Line Arguments

BRIEF

The Anax IM application is designed to be VERY similar to IRC chats, however it is quite smaller. Maybe sooner or later it will transition to into making this into an IRC client, but for this time being it is just a simple IM application. Before using this IM application, you may wish to understand what a server is, and also what the differences between a server and a chat room is.

WHAT'S A SERVER?

Server - Noun

1. A person or thing that provides a service or commodity, in particular.
2. A computer or computer program that manages access to a centralised resource or service in a network.

For this application's case, a server is a program that contains various chat rooms* that allows users (clients*) to chat through.

*this will be discussed later on

WHAT'S A CHAT ROOM?

A chat room is a virtual room, where you can talk to other people. The people inside of this chat room may be administrators, or simply guests. Administrators may kick/ban other people inside a chat room.

WARNING: Administrators CAN kick/ban other Administrators.

TUTORIAL:

Now you're probably thinking: "Okay so you taught me the differences between a server and a chat room, but all I really want to do is chat to my friends!". The notation that is used in this tutorial to resemble input in the application is a separate line with the '$' character preceding the text.

EXAMPLE

$ Hello World

Before you do anything you must first understand what a command is. A command is simply a statement, that is occupied by one line, which you type. A command performs a particular function, depending on what a command is implemented to do. The syntax of a command is as follows:

$ /command_name <optional arguments>

All commands start with a back slash (/). "command_name" is the name of the command, and is arguments that you may specify for the command.

For example, if you wish to change your name to "George", so that the people you are talking to may recognise you, the command is as follows:

$ /nick George

Where nick is the name of the command, and George is the proceeding argument that goes along with the nick command.

CONNECTING/DISCONNECTING FROM A SERVER

To connect to a server you must use the "connect" command. The connect command takes two arguments, first is the server's IP address OR host name. The second argument is the port number.

EXAMPLE

$ /connect localhost 6660

This command connects to the localhost (your local machine) on port 6660.

To disconnect from a connected server, simply use the command "disconnect".

NOTE:

You must be connected to a server before you perform this command to take any effect.

EXAMPLE

$ /disconnect

JOINING/LEAVING A CHAT ROOM

To join a chat room, you simply use the "join" command along with the chat room's name.

EXAMPLE

$ /join ExampleChatRoom

NOTES:

1. If the name of the chat room you have specified to join is not registered, you will automatically create your own chat room, in which case you will be administrator of the chat room. And similarly with the disconnect command, you use the leave command to leave a > chat room. e.g. $ /leave
2. You must be in a chat room to leave a chat room.

LISTING CHAT ROOMS

You're probably wondering, how the heck do I know what the chat room's name is? Well there is a command to list all the chat rooms in a server. To do this use the command "list".

EXAMPLE

$ /list

CHANGING YOUR NICKNAME

As discussed previously, to change your nickname inside the chat room that you are in, you use the "nick" command, along with the nickname you wish to have.

EXAMPLE

$ /nick George

Your nickname is technically not case sensitive, but it will be displayed as whatever case(s) you typed it with.

EXAMPLE

$ /nick George
$ Hello
$ [5/11/12 10:07PM] George: Hello

SENDING MESSAGES

Once you are connected to a server and joined in the chat room that you wish to talk in, you may send messages. To send a message you simply type your message and press return/enter on your keyboard. This will send your message to everyone in the chat room you are connected in.

EXAMPLE

$ Hello
[5/11/12 8:03PM] miguel: Hello

KICKING/BANNING PARTICIPANTS IN CHAT ROOMS

To kick/ban a person out the chat room, you simply use the "kick" or "ban" command, along with the nickname of the person you wish to kick. As discussed before, the nickname that you supply is not case sensitive.

EXAMPLE

$ /kick George

which is the equivalent as:

$ kick george

Kicking someone out from a chat room is very different from banning someone. Kicking someone simply "kicks" them out of the chat room, but the person MAY join back in the chat room immediately.

Banning someone from a chat room KICKS them out of the chat room AND disallows them from joining the chat room, until the server is reset or they are unbanned. To ban someone, simple use the "ban" command along with the nickname of the person you wish to ban.

EXAMPLE

$ /ban George

To unban someone, simply use the "unban" command along with the nickname of the person you wish to unbar.

EXAMPLE

$ /unban George

RETRIEVING THE NAMES OF EVERYONE INSIDE OF THE CHAT ROOM

To retrieve a list of the names of everyone that is inside the room that you are in, you simply use the names command.

EXAMPLE

$ /names

By now you should have the absolute minimum understanding of how this IM application works, and what some various different commands are to go along with the application. There are more commands, and if you wish to know more commands or in greater depth see Appendix A.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A - COMMANDS:

$ /connect <host> <port>

Connects to a server with a specified host and port number.

EXCEPTIONS:

1. Not connected to internet
2. Invalid host/port number

$ /disconnect

Disconnects from a server.

EXCEPTIONS:

1. Not connected to a server

$/join <chat room name>

Joins to a chat room on the currently connected server.

EXCEPTIONS:

1. Chat room does not exist
2. Chat room requires a pass word

$ /leave

Leaves the currently connected chat room

EXCEPTIONS:

1. Not currently inside a chat room

$/list

Lists all chat rooms on a server, showing whether they are password protected or not

EXCEPTIONS:

1. Not connected to a server
2. No available chat rooms

*EXAMPLE

$ /list

NAME	PASSWORD PROTECTED?
Awesome Chat Room	NO
Cheese Factory	YES

To make a chat participant an admin, use the command op:

$ /op <nickname>

EXCEPTIONS:

1. Nickname does not exist
2. Person is already administrator

$ /deop <nickname>

Makes a person not an administrator.

EXCEPTIONS:

1. Nickname does not exist
2. Person is not administrator

$ /nick <name>

Sets your nickname. This is what you're known as to other people.

Valid Characters:

• A-Z
• a-z
• 0-9
• !@#$%^&*()-=_+[]{}|;':",.<>/?
• NO SPACES

EXCEPTIONS:

1. Nickname is already taken
2. Invalid characters

EXAMPLE

$ /nick miguel

Attempting the change name from "guest123" to "miguel"... Successfully set name to "miguel", from "guest123".

Appendix B - COMMAND LINE ARGUMENTS

• Contecting to a server
  • --connect
  • --c Joining a chat room
  • --join
  • --j Setting your nickname
  • --nick
  • --n

EXAMPLE

$ IM --c localhost 30 --j myRoom --n miguel
Connecting to localhost on port 30...
Successfully connected to localhost.
Attempting to join chatroom "myRoom"...
Successfully joined chatroom "myRoom".
Attempting the change name from "guest123" to "miguel"...
Successfully set name to "miguel", from "guest123".