Underground Terminal-based Chat System

This repository contains two Python scripts that implement a terminal-based chat system where multiple users can communicate after logging into the same SSH server. The two main scripts are:

• server.py: The server-side script that manages user connections and broadcasts messages.
• user.py: The client-side script that allows individual users to send and receive messages.

Table of Contents

1. Features
2. Specifications
3. Installation
4. Usage

Features

• Server-side script: Manages multiple client connections and handles message broadcasting between users.
• Client-side script: Allows users to connect to the server and send/receive messages.
• Multi-user support: Multiple users can communicate in real-time through a shared SSH server.
• Terminal-based UI: The application is entirely text-based and runs in the terminal.

Specifications

• Language: Python 3.x
• Network Protocol: TCP/IP
• Server-client architecture: The server listens for connections, and clients connect via IP and port.
• Security: For basic communication, this application assumes a trusted network setup like an SSH server for secure communication between clients and the server.

Dependencies

• Python 3.x
• Socket programming library (part of the Python standard library)
• Threading (Python standard library)
• SSH server for multi-user login (recommended but optional for secure connections)

Installation

Step 1: Clone the repository

First, clone this repository to your local machine using git:

git clone https://github.com/AkbarWiraN/Online-Chatting.git
cd Online-Chatting

Step 2: Install dependencies

Ensure that you have Python 3.x installed on your system. You can check the version of Python installed by running:

python --version
python3 --version

No additional libraries need to be installed, as this system uses standard Python libraries (socket and threading).

Step 3: Run the Server

Install Python 3.x.x:

sudo apt install python3

Install screen session:

sudo apt install screen

Create session:

screen -S Chatting

Open the session:

screen -r Chatting

Start by running the server script:

python3 server.py

The server will start and listen for client connections

Step 4: Run the Client

Once the server is running, users can connect by running the client script. Open a new terminal window and execute:

python3 user.py

The client script will prompt you to input the server's IP address and port to establish a connection.

Step 5: Multi-user setup (optional)

For a distributed setup, multiple users can log in via SSH to the same server where the server.py script is running. Each user can then run user.py from their SSH session to join the chat.

Usage

1. Starting the server: Run server.py to initiate the chat server.
2. Connecting users: Each user runs user.py and connects to the server by providing the correct IP address and port.
3. Sending messages: Users can send messages from their terminal, which will be broadcast to all other connected users.
4. Exiting the chat: Press Ctrl+C or exit the program to leave the chat.

Example steps:

# In server terminal
python3 server.py

# In user terminals (multiple instances)
python3 user.py

Expected Output

Once the server and client are running:

• The server terminal will show incoming connections and broadcast messages.
• The client terminal will display messages from other users, as well as allow the user to type and send messages.