Client–Server Application (C Socket Programming)

A lightweight TCP Client–Server system written in C, created as part of a university networking coursework module. This project showcases fundamental concepts in network programming, socket communication, and distributed system design.

📌 Project Overview

This project implements a basic TCP-based client–server communication model using the C programming language and POSIX socket APIs.

The system consists of:

• A Server that listens on a specified port, accepts client requests, and responds according to the coursework specification.

• A Client that connects to the server, sends messages, and displays responses received from the server.

This project demonstrates:

• Low-level network programming

• Use of POSIX sockets

• Designing simple communication protocols

• Working with buffers, I/O, and error handling in C

🚀 Features

Server:

• Opens a TCP socket and listens for incoming client connections

• Accepts and handles one client at a time (standard for foundational coursework)

• Processes messages using a simple request–response protocol

• Prints connection logs and messages to the terminal

• Cleanly closes sockets and handles errors safely

Client:

• Connects to the server via IP address + port number

• Sends user input to the server over a TCP stream

• Receives and prints the server’s messages

• Continues interactive communication until termination

▶️ How to Compile and Run

1. Compile the server gcc server.c -o server

2. Compile the client gcc client.c -o client

3. Run the server ./server

4. Open a new terminal and run the client ./client

Example interaction: Client: Hello Server: Received: Hello

🛠 Technologies Used

• C programming language

• POSIX sockets (Linux / UNIX)

• TCP/IP

👤 Author

Nikki Client–Server Networking Coursework Project (C Socket Programming)