Chat App

Getting Started

Install Ngrok
Why?
The network firewall in Greenwood High (FortiGuard) blocks connections to other devices. This means that the websocket server running on one system cannot be accessed on the other device (client).
To bypass these restrictions we use Ngrok. Ngrok creates a secure tunnel to the localhost server and provides a public URL, essentially bypassing the restriction.

• Visit Ngrok to download the .exe and authenticate yourself.
• Run the following command and paste the 'Forwarding' url in the terminal when prompted to. The URL will look something like http://a1b2-c3d4-e5f6.ngrok-free.app

ngrok http --scheme=http 8080

NOTE: NGROK MUST BE RUN ON THE DEVICE RUNNING THE WEBSOCKET SERVER. REFER BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION

Details on the program

Taking a look in the directory, you will find:

• MainUser.java - this file contains code for the client and also automatically starts the websocket server on the same device.
• Client.java - this file would be distributed to other clients that will be connecting to the websocket server from another device or so.
• AdminConsole.java - shows an overview on the message logs, active users and an option to reset chat history. This will ONLY work on the device on which the websocket server is running, as it depends on the history file.
• WebsocketServer.java - this file contains code for the websocket server; receiving, authentication and broadcasting all messages
• WriteToLocal.java
  - this file contains code for the handling of the history on the server side. It writes all messages to a file so that message history is preserved even if a client or even the server goes down.

Kindly ignore all other files and directories. They are not relevant to the project (/.idea, .gitignore, ChatApp.iml).

There are multiple ways to run the program, depending on how you wish to distribute it. One option is to run MainUser.java and run Client.java on other devices. Otherwise, you can run WebsocketServer.java and distribute Client.java to all devices. As mentioned earlier, the AdminConsole.java will ONLY work on the device on which the websocket server is running so do note that.

Disclaimer

I am NOT responsible for any damages caused by the use of this software. This software is intended for educational purposes only. Use at your own risk. I am not promoting or encouraging any bypassing of network restrictions. This software is intended to be used in a controlled environment and should not be used for malicious purposes.

Credits

Developed by Shan Sharma