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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.

📌 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.

📂 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

🛠️ Tech Stack

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

🧠 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
image

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
image

▶️ How to Run

Prerequisites

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

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