C++ Socket Programming Chat Application

A multithreaded TCP chat application built in C++ using Winsock (Windows).
This project demonstrates low-level socket programming, client–server architecture, and multithreading using the Winsock API.

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📌 Project Overview

This application consists of:

• A TCP server that accepts multiple client connections
• Multiple TCP clients that can send and receive messages concurrently
• A broadcast mechanism where messages from one client are delivered to all others

The project is intended for learning system programming concepts and is suitable for interview discussion and resume use.

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📂 Project Structure

socket-programming-chat-application/ │ ├── server/ │ └── server.cpp # Multithreaded TCP chat server │ ├── client/ │ └── client.cpp # TCP chat client │ └── README.md

✨ Features

• TCP-based client–server communication
• Supports multiple concurrent clients
• Multithreaded server (one thread per client)
• Separate send and receive threads on client
• Real-time message broadcasting
• Graceful connection handling

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🛠️ Tech Stack

• Language: C++
• Networking API: Winsock2
• Concurrency: std::thread
• Protocol: TCP (IPv4)
• Platform: Windows

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🧠 How It Works

Server

1. Initializes the Winsock library
2. Creates and binds a TCP socket
3. Listens for incoming client connections
4. Accepts clients in a loop
5. Spawns a new thread for each connected client
6. Receives messages and broadcasts them to all connected clients

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Client

1. Initializes the Winsock library
2. Connects to the server using IP and port
3. Uses two threads:
   • One for sending messages
   • One for receiving messages
4. Displays incoming messages in real time

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▶️ How to Run

Prerequisites

• Windows OS
• Visual Studio (or any C++ compiler with Winsock support)
• Basic knowledge of socket programming

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1️⃣ Compile and Run Server

Using Visual Studio:

• Open server.cpp project
• Build and run the server

Using command line (MinGW example):

g++ server.cpp -o server -lws2_32
server.exe