C Socket Programming

A simple implementation of client-server communication using C sockets, supporting both TCP and UDP protocols.

Features

• TCP socket implementation
  • Connection-oriented
  • Reliable data delivery
  • Stream-based communication
• UDP socket implementation
  • Connectionless
  • Faster, but unreliable
  • Message-based communication
• Basic client-server communication
• Simple message exchange
• Error handling

Building

Compile all programs:

make all

Or compile specific versions:

make tcp_server tcp_client    # For TCP versions
make udp_server udp_client    # For UDP versions

Usage

TCP Version

1. Start the TCP server:

./tcp_server

2. In another terminal, start the TCP client:

./tcp_client

UDP Version

1. Start the UDP server:

./udp_server

2. In another terminal, start the UDP client:

./udp_client

Key Differences between TCP and UDP Implementations

1. TCP (Transmission Control Protocol):

   • Connection-oriented
   • Reliable data delivery
   • Order of messages guaranteed
   • Better for applications requiring data integrity

2. UDP (User Datagram Protocol):

   • Connectionless
   • No guarantee of delivery or order
   • Faster due to less overhead
   • Better for real-time applications

Key differences between TCP and UDP implementations:

1. Socket Type:
   - TCP uses `SOCK_STREAM`
   - UDP uses `SOCK_DGRAM`

2. Connection Handling:
   - TCP requires `connect()`, `accept()`, and maintains connection state
   - UDP is connectionless, using `sendto()` and `recvfrom()` for each message

3. Message Boundaries:
   - TCP is stream-based
   - UDP preserves message boundaries

4. Reliability:
   - TCP handles retransmission automatically
   - UDP has no built-in reliability mechanisms