McComms.Sockets 1.0.1

McComms.Sockets

Socket-based implementation for the McComms solution. This package provides TCP/IP socket-based implementations of the ICommsClient and ICommsServer interfaces from McComms.Core.

TCP/IP Socket Communication Model

This implementation uses plain TCP/IP sockets with a simple text-based protocol for communication.

Message Format

All messages are sent as UTF-8 encoded strings with the following format:

Command Request:

CMD:ID:MESSAGE

Command Response:

RES:SUCCESS:ID:MESSAGE

Broadcast Message:

BRD:ID:MESSAGE

Connection Flow

+--------+                          +--------+
| Client |                          | Server |
+--------+                          +--------+
    |                                   |
    | TCP Connection Request            |
    |---------------------------------->|
    |                                   |
    | TCP Connection Established        |
    |<----------------------------------|
    |                                   |

Command Flow

+--------+                          +--------+
| Client |                          | Server |
+--------+                          +--------+
    |                                   |
    | CMD:1:Hello Server                |
    |---------------------------------->|
    |                                   | Process
    |                                   | Command
    |                                   |
    | RES:true:1:Command processed      |
    |<----------------------------------|
    |                                   |

Broadcast Flow

+--------+                          +--------+
| Server |                          | Client |
+--------+                          +--------+
    |                                   |
    | BRD:1:System notification         |
    |---------------------------------->|
    |                                   |
    |                           +--------+
    |                           | Client |
    |                           +--------+
    | BRD:1:System notification         |
    |---------------------------------->|
    |                                   |

Example Usage

Server

// Create a Socket server on port 9000
var server = new CommsServerSockets(IPAddress.Parse("127.0.0.1"), 9000);

// Start the server with a command handler
server.Start((request) => {
    Console.WriteLine($"Received command: {request.Id} - {request.Message}");
    return new CommandResponse(true, request.Id.ToString(), "Command processed");
});

// Send a broadcast message to all connected clients
server.SendBroadcast(new BroadcastMessage(1, "System notification"));

// Later, when application ends
server.Stop();

Client

// Create a Socket client
var client = new CommsClientSockets(IPAddress.Parse("127.0.0.1"), 9000);

// Connect and set up broadcast message handler
var connected = await client.ConnectAsync((broadcast) => {
    Console.WriteLine($"Received broadcast: {broadcast.Id} - {broadcast.Message}");
});

if (connected)
{
    // Send a command
    var request = new CommandRequest(1, "Hello Server");
    var response = await client.SendCommandAsync(request);
    
    Console.WriteLine($"Response: {response.Success} - {response.Message}");
    
    // When done
    await client.DisconnectAsync();
}

Benefits of Socket-based Implementation

• Lightweight: Minimal overhead compared to higher-level protocols
• Reliable: Built on established TCP/IP technology
• Cross-Platform: Works on any platform that supports standard sockets
• Direct Control: Fine-grained control over connection handling
• Low Latency: Optimized for performance with minimal protocol overhead

Contents

• Socket clients and servers
• Specific models and helpers

Author

Joan Magnet