Peer2Peer Networks

[Alcoholic]

Hi everybody,

I want to write a chat program but I don't have a computer pernament connected to the Internet so that I can use

a server (.exe server program). In this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer-to-peer page differences between server/client

& p2p networks are explained I think...

My question is if I can create a chat program without having to run a server all the time and how can I pass the IPs from

one computer to another? (would owning a website help? hosting there a server or something?)

Thanks.

[Airwolf]

Hi everybody,

I want to write a chat program but I don't have a computer pernament connected to the Internet so that I can use

a server (.exe server program). In this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer-to-peer page differences between server/client

& p2p networks are explained I think...

My question is if I can create a chat program without having to run a server all the time and how can I pass the IPs from

one computer to another? (would owning a website help? hosting there a server or something?)

Thanks.

You could use the TCP functions (see the help file) to create a listening port and a sending port for the client, then each machine would act as a server and a client.

[Alcoholic]

You could use the TCP functions (see the help file) to create a listening port and a sending port for the client, then each machine would act as a server and a client.

Yes, but how can I get the ip address of the other client/server to connect to? I don't want the user to input the ip. Any ideas?

[Airwolf]

Yes, but how can I get the ip address of the other client/server to connect to? I don't want the user to input the ip. Any ideas?

You could setup a list of machines in a file on a public server (and you can even encrypt the list using the _StringEncrypt function). Or, on a private network, you could scan an IP range or use Active Directory (if applicable). There are many different ways you can develop the application to find peers. Edited June 10, 2008 by Airwolf123

[JRowe]

You could set up a simple relay system using php/mysql to store relevant data.

The relay system would handle logins, lists of logged in users, and user data, such as profiles, and friend groups. This would also avoid issues with dynamic IP addresses and so on, so that you could log in from any computer with your info.

Allow the client application to connect to other clients if Chat Requests are approved. Chat requests would be sent by the relay system, or queued until a person was logged in.

Setting a person as your friend would allow them to skip the chat request and initiate a session right away.

Security might be an issue, I'm not sure if it would be possible to execute code over a TCPSend after clients are connected.

Anyway, determine what data is necessary to validate a chat session, then abstract that data to the relay system. This way you avoid the possibility of losing sensitive data if the client gets hacked, and you will be able to distribute a much smaller, cleaner application.