shamzaou/minitalk_42ad

The purpose of this project is to code a small data exchange program using UNIX signals.

Minitalk

Minitalk is a simple server-client program that demonstrates the use of UNIX signals for inter-process communication (IPC). The server can receive and display messages sent by the client, using only SIGUSR1 and SIGUSR2 signals.

Features

• Uses UNIX signals for communication
• Server can handle multiple clients
• Server acknowledges each received message

Compilation

To compile the program, run the following command in your terminal:

make all

This will compile the server and client executables using the provided Makefile.

Usage

Server

To start the server, run the following command:

./server

The server will display its process ID (PID) upon starting. Keep note of this PID, as it will be used by the client to send messages.

Client

To send a message to the server, run the client with the server's PID and your desired message as arguments:

./client <server_pid> "Your message here"

Replace <server_pid> with the PID of the running server. The message can be any string enclosed in double quotes.

For example:

./client 12345 "Hello, Minitalk!"

Upon receiving the message, the server will display the content and send an acknowledgment signal back to the client.

Implementation

The Minitalk project is divided into two parts: the server and the client.

Server

The server listens for incoming signals using an infinite loop, registering signal handlers for SIGUSR1 and SIGUSR2. It decodes the received signals to reconstruct the original message character by character. When a full character (8 bits) has been received, the server prints the character and sends an acknowledgment signal to the client.

Client

The client sends messages to the server by encoding each character of the message as a series of SIGUSR1 and SIGUSR2 signals. The client sends one signal per bit, representing '1' as SIGUSR1 and '0' as SIGUSR2. After sending each character, the client waits for an acknowledgment signal from the server before sending the next character.