Develop Reference

Java - Send Message to all Clients

I'm creating a chat server using Socket Servers and Thread. I have 3 Classes in my Server ChatServer.java, ThreadedServer.java, and Main.java. My Client has 2 ChatClient.java, Main.java. I need to make it so when a message is sent in from a client to server, the server sends out the message to all Clients.
ChatServer.java
package server;
import java.io.*;
import java.net.*;
public class ChatServer {
protected Socket s;
protected Socket ss;
public ChatServer() {
try {
ServerSocket ss=new ServerSocket(6969);
Runtime.getRuntime().addShutdownHook(new Thread() {
public void main(String []args) throws IOException {
ss.close();
}
});
while (true) {
Socket s =ss.accept();
new ThreadedServer(s).start();
}
}catch(Exception e) {
System.out.println(e);
}
new ThreadedServer(s).start();
}
}
ThreadedServer.java
package server;
import java.io.*;
import java.net.*;
public class ThreadedServer extends Thread{
protected Socket socket;
public ThreadedServer(Socket clientSocket) {
this.socket = clientSocket;
}
public void run() {
try {
DataInputStream dis = new DataInputStream(socket.getInputStream());
DataOutputStream dos = new DataOutputStream(socket.getOutputStream());
while (true) {
String str=(String)dis.readUTF();
String remote = socket.getInetAddress().toString();
String newmes = remote + ": " + str;
dos.writeUTF(newmes);
System.out.println(newmes);
if (str.toUpperCase() == "QUIT") {
socket.close();
break;
}else if (str.toUpperCase() == "EXIT") {
socket.close();
break;
}
}
}catch(Exception e) {
System.out.println(e);
}
}
}
Main.java (Server)
package server;
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
ChatServer chat = new ChatServer();
}
}
Here are the Client.java's
ChatClient.java
package client;
import java.io.*;
import java.net.*;
public class ChatClient {
public ChatClient() {
try {
Socket s = new Socket("10.4.27.29",6969);
Runtime.getRuntime().addShutdownHook(new Thread() {
public void main(String []args) throws IOException {
s.close();
}
});
DataOutputStream dos = new DataOutputStream(s.getOutputStream());
DataInputStream dis = new DataInputStream(s.getInputStream());
while (true) {
String message = System.console().readLine();
dos.writeUTF(message);
System.out.println(dis.readUTF());
}
}catch(Exception e) {
System.out.println(e);
}
}
}
Main.java (Client)
package client;
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
ChatClient chat = new ChatClient();
}
}
Please any help would be amazing.
Also any ideas to make this nicer would be appreciated. Thanks!!

Try running this. This is one I made that works.
ChatServer.java
import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.io.PrintWriter;
import java.net.ServerSocket;
import java.net.Socket;
import java.util.HashSet;
/**
* A multithreaded chat room server. When a client connects the
* server requests a screen name by sending the client the
* text "SUBMITNAME", and keeps requesting a name until
* a unique one is received. After a client submits a unique
* name, the server acknowledges with "NAMEACCEPTED". Then
* all messages from that client will be broadcast to all other
* clients that have submitted a unique screen name. The
* broadcast messages are prefixed with "MESSAGE ".
*
* Because this is just a teaching example to illustrate a simple
* chat server, there are a few features that have been left out.
* Two are very useful and belong in production code:
*
* 1. The protocol should be enhanced so that the client can
* send clean disconnect messages to the server.
*
* 2. The server should do some logging.
*/
public class ChatServer {
/**
* The port that the server listens on.
*/
private static final int PORT = 9001;
/**
* The set of all names of clients in the chat room. Maintained
* so that we can check that new clients are not registering name
* already in use.
*/
private static HashSet<String> names = new HashSet<String>();
/**
* The set of all the print writers for all the clients. This
* set is kept so we can easily broadcast messages.
*/
private static HashSet<PrintWriter> writers = new HashSet<PrintWriter>();
/**
* The appplication main method, which just listens on a port and
* spawns handler threads.
*/
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
System.out.println("The chat server is running.");
ServerSocket listener = new ServerSocket(PORT);
try {
while (true) {
new Handler(listener.accept()).start();
}
} finally {
listener.close();
}
}
/**
* A handler thread class. Handlers are spawned from the listening
* loop and are responsible for a dealing with a single client
* and broadcasting its messages.
*/
private static class Handler extends Thread {
private String name;
private Socket socket;
private BufferedReader in;
private PrintWriter out;
/**
* Constructs a handler thread, squirreling away the socket.
* All the interesting work is done in the run method.
*/
public Handler(Socket socket) {
this.socket = socket;
}
/**
* Services this thread's client by repeatedly requesting a
* screen name until a unique one has been submitted, then
* acknowledges the name and registers the output stream for
* the client in a global set, then repeatedly gets inputs and
* broadcasts them.
*/
public void run() {
try {
// Create character streams for the socket.
in = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(
socket.getInputStream()));
out = new PrintWriter(socket.getOutputStream(), true);
// Request a name from this client. Keep requesting until
// a name is submitted that is not already used. Note that
// checking for the existence of a name and adding the name
// must be done while locking the set of names.
while (true) {
out.println("SUBMITNAME");
name = in.readLine();
if (name == null) {
return;
}
synchronized (names) {
if (!names.contains(name)) {
names.add(name);
break;
}
}
}
// Now that a successful name has been chosen, add the
// socket's print writer to the set of all writers so
// this client can receive broadcast messages.
out.println("NAMEACCEPTED");
writers.add(out);
// Accept messages from this client and broadcast them.
// Ignore other clients that cannot be broadcasted to.
while (true) {
String input = in.readLine();
if (input == null) {
return;
}
for (PrintWriter writer : writers) {
writer.println("MESSAGE " + name + ": " + input);
}
}
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println(e);
} finally {
// This client is going down! Remove its name and its print
// writer from the sets, and close its socket.
if (name != null) {
names.remove(name);
}
if (out != null) {
writers.remove(out);
}
try {
socket.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
}
}
}
}
}
ChatClient.java
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.io.PrintWriter;
import java.net.Socket;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.JTextArea;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
/**
* A simple Swing-based client for the chat server. Graphically
* it is a frame with a text field for entering messages and a
* textarea to see the whole dialog.
*
* The client follows the Chat Protocol which is as follows.
* When the server sends "SUBMITNAME" the client replies with the
* desired screen name. The server will keep sending "SUBMITNAME"
* requests as long as the client submits screen names that are
* already in use. When the server sends a line beginning
* with "NAMEACCEPTED" the client is now allowed to start
* sending the server arbitrary strings to be broadcast to all
* chatters connected to the server. When the server sends a
* line beginning with "MESSAGE " then all characters following
* this string should be displayed in its message area.
*/
public class ChatClient {
BufferedReader in;
PrintWriter out;
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Chatter");
JTextField textField = new JTextField(40);
JTextArea messageArea = new JTextArea(8, 40);
/**
* Constructs the client by laying out the GUI and registering a
* listener with the textfield so that pressing Return in the
* listener sends the textfield contents to the server. Note
* however that the textfield is initially NOT editable, and
* only becomes editable AFTER the client receives the NAMEACCEPTED
* message from the server.
*/
public ChatClient() {
// Layout GUI
textField.setEditable(false);
messageArea.setEditable(false);
frame.getContentPane().add(textField, "North");
frame.getContentPane().add(new JScrollPane(messageArea), "Center");
frame.pack();
// Add Listeners
textField.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
/**
* Responds to pressing the enter key in the textfield by sending
* the contents of the text field to the server. Then clear
* the text area in preparation for the next message.
*/
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
out.println(textField.getText());
textField.setText("");
}
});
}
/**
* Prompt for and return the address of the server.
*/
private String getServerAddress() {
return JOptionPane.showInputDialog(
frame,
"Enter IP Address of the Server:",
"Welcome to the Chatter",
JOptionPane.QUESTION_MESSAGE);
}
/**
* Prompt for and return the desired screen name.
*/
private String getName() {
return JOptionPane.showInputDialog(
frame,
"Choose a screen name:",
"Screen name selection",
JOptionPane.PLAIN_MESSAGE);
}
/**
* Connects to the server then enters the processing loop.
*/
private void run() throws IOException {
// Make connection and initialize streams
String serverAddress = getServerAddress();
Socket socket = new Socket(serverAddress, 9001);
in = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(
socket.getInputStream()));
out = new PrintWriter(socket.getOutputStream(), true);
// Process all messages from server, according to the protocol.
while (true) {
String line = in.readLine();
if (line.startsWith("SUBMITNAME")) {
out.println(getName());
} else if (line.startsWith("NAMEACCEPTED")) {
textField.setEditable(true);
} else if (line.startsWith("MESSAGE")) {
messageArea.append(line.substring(8) + "\n");
}
}
}
/**
* Runs the client as an application with a closeable frame.
*/
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
ChatClient client = new ChatClient();
client.frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
client.frame.setVisible(true);
client.run();
}
}

java.net.SocketException: Socket is closed OOP Design bug

I am writing a college project on banking system for Server - Client communication. One of the requirements is OOP design of an application.
I have a bug around the class where I am implementing methods for communication.
This is a Client Side code. Server Side is implemented similarly and produce same bug.
The outcome of a bug is java.net.SocketException: Socket is closed
Class that implements communication methods:
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.ObjectInputStream;
import java.io.ObjectOutputStream;
import java.net.Socket;
import java.net.UnknownHostException;
// My custom interface
public class DriveableImpl implements Driveable{
private Socket socket;
private ObjectOutputStream out;
private ObjectInputStream in;
protected DriveableImpl() {}
// Method that set a socket for a current communication instance
private void setSocket(Socket socket) {
this.socket = socket;
}
// Method to connect to a server that takes parameters required to open socket
#Override
public void connect(String ip, int port){
try {
socket = new Socket(ip, port); // open new socket
setSocket(socket); // set a socket for a current instance to use in other methods
} catch (UnknownHostException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
// Method to close connection with a server
// Oddly, this method is not bugged and can close socket safely
#Override
public void disconnect(){
sendMessage(0); // send a tag number of a method to a server
if(socket != null){
try {
System.out.println("Closing socket: " + socket);
socket.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
// Method produce BUG
// Method that accepts any java object as a parameter and send it through a socket of a current instance
#Override
public void sendMessage(Object message) {
try{
out = new ObjectOutputStream(socket.getOutputStream()); // new object stream with a given socket
out.writeObject(message); // send an object stream through a socket
out.flush(); // flush the stream to insure all data is sent and stream is free for new objects
out.close(); // close a stream for current method invocation
}
catch(IOException ioException){
ioException.printStackTrace();
}
}
// Method has a BUG
// Method that reads objects sent by server through a socket
#Override
public Object receiveMessage(){
try{
in = new ObjectInputStream(socket.getInputStream()); // creating new stream to read serialized objects from socket stream
try {
return in.readObject(); // return an object that was read from stream
} catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} finally{
in.close(); // close the stream when object is read and returned
}
} catch(IOException ioException){
ioException.printStackTrace();
}
return null; // returns null if something went wrong
}
// Method that produce BUG
// Method that processes user registration
#Override
public void registration(){
sendMessage(2); // send a tag number of a method to a server
try {
String outcome = (String) receiveMessage(); // waiting for response from server
System.out.println(outcome);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
// Method that produce BUG
// Method that processes user login and returns login status as boolean expression
#Override
public boolean login(){
sendMessage(1); // send a tag number of a method to a server
// Block that receives message from a server about login status, i.e., logged in or reasons for not being logged in
try {
outcome = (String) receiveMessage();
System.out.println(outcome);
return (boolean)receiveMessage(); // method returns boolean (true/false) that is required
// to manipulate authentication and issue authorization privileges
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} // waiting for response from server
return false; // if something goes wrong, return false
}
} // end of DriveableImpl class
This is standard class that invokes methods and return invoked methods returns:
package ie.gmit.sw.client.methods;
import java.lang.reflect.InvocationHandler;
import java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException;
import java.lang.reflect.Method;
public class MethodInvoker implements InvocationHandler{
private Object returnObject = null; // object that will hold any returns from invoked methods
private final Driveable userInterface;
protected MethodInvoker(Driveable ui) {
this.userInterface = ui;
}
public Object invoke(Object proxy, Method method, Object[] args)
throws IllegalAccessException, IllegalArgumentException,
InvocationTargetException{
System.out.println("BEFORE");
returnObject = method.invoke(userInterface, args);
System.out.println(method.getName());
System.out.println("AFTER");
return returnObject;
}
}
Class that encapsulates binding between MethodInvoker class and class that implements communication methods:
package ie.gmit.sw.client.methods;
import java.lang.reflect.Proxy;
// Extending a class that implements Driveable Interface
// I thought it's a good use of polymorphism
// Used later to create instance of this class of a type Driveable to maximize abstraction
public class IssueDriver extends DriveableImpl {
private DriveableImpl di = new DriveableImpl(); // creating Object with implemented methods that are required to handle
private MethodInvoker handler = new MethodInvoker(di); // creating Object that handles/executes methods from implementation class
// Creating driver through which methods can be called
private final Driveable driver = (Driveable) Proxy.newProxyInstance(Driveable.class.getClassLoader(),
new Class[] { Driveable.class },
handler);
// Constructor that carries driver object
public IssueDriver() {
getDriver();
}
// returns driver
private Driveable getDriver() {
return driver;
}
}
Class that uses driver object to invoke methods:
package ie.gmit.sw.client;
import java.util.Scanner;
import ie.gmit.sw.client.methods.Driveable;
import ie.gmit.sw.client.methods.IssueDriver;
public class UserInterface {
private int option;
private Scanner input;
private Driveable driver; // methods driver object
private boolean authenticated = false; // Variable to verify authentication and give corresponding authorization rights.
protected UserInterface() {
driver = new IssueDriver(); // creating new instance of a methods driver i.e., user options in UI
}
protected void menu() {
input = new Scanner(System.in);
try { /* ip port*/
driver.connect("localhost", 2017); // Method that connects to a server. Excepts parameters with ip address and port number.
} catch (Exception connect) {
connect.printStackTrace();
}
do{
if(authenticated == false){
System.out.println("Choose from these choices");
System.out.println("-------------------------\n");
System.out.println("1 - Login");
System.out.println("2 - Register");
System.out.println("0 - Quit");
option = input.nextInt();
switch(option){
case 1: System.out.println("Login");
try {
authenticated = driver.login(); // Method sends an object with user input for login
// and returns status response from the server.
} catch (Exception login) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
login.printStackTrace();
}
break;
case 2: System.out.println("Registration");
System.out.println();
try {
driver.registration(); // Method sends an object with registration data to the server.
// Receives status message from server.
} catch (Exception registration) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
registration.printStackTrace();
}
break;
case 0: System.out.println("Quit");
try {
driver.disconnect(); // Method closes connection with server.
} catch (Exception discon){
discon.printStackTrace();
}
break;
}
}
else if(authenticated == true){
// ....
}
}while(option != 0);
}
}
I tried to narrow the code and isolate problem.
Class public class UserInterface is further instantiated in a run method of a Thread to run an app.
Am I overcooking with OOP design or am I missing some socket programming concepts?
Please ask questions if you don't understand something!
Suggest how things can be done better in general!
Thank You!

Clsoing the input or output stream of a socket closes the socket.
You should not create a new ObjectOutputStream per message, and you should not close it after sending one. The same goes for ObjectInputStream when receiving. Use the same ones for the life of the socket.

Closing either input or the output stream should close the socket. In sendMessage you close the ObjectOutputStream, which likely in turn closes the underlying output stream you passed into the constructor.

Continuously read objects from an ObjectInputStream in Java

I have a problem using an ObjectInputStream and I have been struggling with it for 2 days now. I tried to search for a solution but unfortunately found no fitting answer.
I am trying to write a client/server application in which the client sends objects (in this case a configuration class) to the server. The idea is that connection keeps alive after sending the object so it is possible to send a new object if necessary.
Here are the important parts of my client code:
mSocket = new Socket("192.168.43.56", 1234);
mObjectIn = new ObjectInputStream(mSocket.getInputStream());
mObjectOut = new ObjectOutputStream(mSocket.getOutputStream());
mObjectOut.writeObject(stubConfig);
mObjectOut.flush();
In the above code, I left out some try/catch blocks to keep the code readable for you.
The server side looks as follows:
mHostServer = new ServerSocket(port);
mSocket = mHostServer.accept();
// create streams in reverse oreder
mObjectOut = new ObjectOutputStream(mConnection.getOutputStream());
mObjectOut.flush();
mObjectIn = new ObjectInputStream(mConnection.getInputStream());
while (mIsSocketConnected)
{
StubConfig = (StubConfiguration)mObjectIn.readObject();
}
What I want to achieve is that as long at the socketconnection is alive, the server is listening for incoming config objects.
When I run my program however, I got an EOFException in the while loop at server side. I receive the first config object without any problems in the first iteration of the while loop but after that I get an EOFException every time readObject() is called.
I am looking for a way to solve this. Can anyone put me in the good direction?
EDIT: What I read about the EOFException is that it is thrown when you want to read from a stream when the end of it is reached. That means that for some reason the stream ended after the object has been send. Is there a way to reinitialize the streams or so??

EOFException is thrown by readObject() when the peer has closed the connection. There can never be more data afterwards. Ergo you can't have written multiple objects at all: you closed the connection instead.

try using this
Server side
1.Server running on a separate thread
public class ServeurPresence implements Runnable {
public final static int PORT = 20000 ;
public final static String HOSTNAME = "localhost" ;
public static enum Action {CONNEXION, MSG, DECONNEXION,USER, FINCLASSEMENT};
ServerSocket serveur ;
static List<String> names ;
*/
public ServeurPresence()
{
System.out.println("Start Server...");
try
{
serveur = new ServerSocket(PORT) ;
new Thread(this).start();
//javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() { public void run() { createAndShowGUI();} } );
}
catch (IOException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
/**
* #param args
*/
public static void main(String[] args)
{
new ServeurPresence();
}
#Override
public void run()
{
System.out.println("server runs");
while(true)
{
try {
Socket sock = serveur.accept();
ServiceClientsThread thread= new ServiceClientsThread(sock);
thread.start();
}
catch (IOException e)
{
System.out.println("Error with socket");
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
}
2. A Thread to handle each Client:ServiceClientThread
import java.io.DataInputStream;
import java.io.DataOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.net.Socket;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class ServiceClientsThread extends Thread{
private Socket sock ;
ServiceClientsThread(Socket sock)
{
//super();
this.sock=sock;
}
#Override
public void run()
{
DataInputStream is ;
DataOutputStream os ;
String name =null ;
try {
is = new DataInputStream(sock.getInputStream()) ;
os = new DataOutputStream(sock.getOutputStream()) ;
ServeurPresence.Action act ;
do {
// read Action
act = ServeurPresence.Action.valueOf(is.readUTF()) ; // read string -> enum
System.out.println("action :"+act);
switch (act) {
case CONNEXION :
name = is.readUTF(); //read client name
System.out.println("Name :"+name);
os.writeUTF("Hi");//send welcome msg
break ;
case MSG :
String msg = is.readUTF();
os.writeUTF("OK");//response
break ;
case DECONNEXION :
System.out.println(name+" is logged out");
break ;
}
} while (act!=ServeurPresence.Action.DECONNEXION) ;
// the end
is.close();
os.close();
sock.close();
} catch (IOException e)
{
System.out.println("Error with "+name+" socket");
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
3. Client side
import java.io.DataInputStream;
import java.io.DataOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.net.InetAddress;
import java.net.Socket;
import java.net.UnknownHostException;
public class Client {
/**
*
*/
Client(String name)
{
System.out.println("Start Client...");
try {
Socket sock = new Socket(ServeurPresence.HOSTNAME,ServeurPresence.PORT) ;
DataOutputStream os = new DataOutputStream(sock.getOutputStream()) ;
DataInputStream is = new DataInputStream(sock.getInputStream()) ;
System.out.println("Send "+name+" to server");
// CONNECTION : Action then value
os.writeUTF(ServeurPresence.Action.CONNEXION.name()) ; // send action : write enum -> String
os.writeUTF(name) ; // send the name
//read server welcome msg
String msg = is.readUTF();
System.out.println("Welcome msg: "+msg);
/* Your actions here : see example below */
try
{
Thread.currentThread().sleep(4000);
os.writeUTF(ServeurPresence.Action.MSG.name()) ; // send action : write enum -> String
os.writeUTF("My message here") ; // send msg
Thread.currentThread().sleep(4000);
msg = is.readUTF();//server response message
}
catch (InterruptedException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
/************************************************/
//CLOSE
os.writeUTF(ServeurPresence.Action.DECONNEXION.name()) ; // send action
System.out.println("Log out");
os.close();
sock.close();
}
catch (UnknownHostException e)
{
System.out.println(ServeurPresence.HOSTNAME+ " unknown");
e.printStackTrace();
}
catch (IOException e)
{
System.out.println("Impossible to connect to "+ServeurPresence.HOSTNAME+ ":"+ServeurPresence.PORT);
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
4. In your case use readObject()/writeObject() instead of readUTF()/writeUTF() to write your config objects

Try this and let me know how it goes:
while (1==1)
{
StubConfig = (StubConfiguration)mObjectIn.readObject();
Thread.sleep(100); //Saves CPU usage
}

Very late answer, but just for future reference. I have been having problems sending Objects via sockets because the method flush() is not working properly.
I solved this problem just by switching flush() to reset().

NullPointerException in Thread's run method

I would really appreciate help with my program. It is some sort of chat server with multiple clients.
Here's the server code:
package com.server;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.net.ServerSocket;
import java.net.Socket;
public class Server {
public static int PORT;
private ServerSocket server;
private Socket socket;
public Server(int port) throws IOException {
PORT = port;
server = new ServerSocket(PORT);
System.out.println("server started");
try {
while (true) {
socket = server.accept();
try {
new ServeClient(socket);
} catch (IOException e) {
socket.close();
}
}
} finally {
server.close();
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
int port = Integer.parseInt(args[0]);
Server server = new Server(port);
}
}
I start the server and then create a Client. The server receives connection socket from socket
and creates a ServeClient Thread.
Here's ServeClient code:
package com.server;
import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.BufferedWriter;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.io.OutputStreamWriter;
import java.io.PrintWriter;
import java.net.Socket;
import java.util.Enumeration;
import java.util.Vector;
import com.gui.WindowManager;
public class ServeClient extends Thread {
private final Socket socket;
private BufferedReader in;
private PrintWriter out;
private String msg;
public static final String ENDSTRING = "END";
public static Vector clients = new Vector();
public ServeClient(final Socket socket) throws IOException {
this.socket = socket;
System.out.println("socket " + socket);
in = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(socket.getInputStream()));
out = new PrintWriter(new BufferedWriter(new OutputStreamWriter(
socket.getOutputStream())), true);
start();
}
public void run() {
try {
clients.add(this);
while (true) {
msg = in.readLine();
if (msg == ENDSTRING)
break;
broadcast(msg);
}
System.out.println("closing...");
} catch (IOException e) {
System.err.println("IO EXCEPTION");
} finally {
try {
socket.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
System.err.println("SOCKET NOT CLOSED");
}
}
}
#SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
public void broadcast(String msg) {
synchronized (clients) {
Enumeration<ServeClient> e = clients.elements();
while (e.hasMoreElements()) {
ServeClient serveClient = e.nextElement();
try {
synchronized (serveClient.out) {
serveClient.out.println(msg);
}
} catch (Exception eee) {
serveClient.stop();
}
}
}
}
}
What i get is a NullPointerException when ServeClient invokes run() method
server started
socket Socket[addr=/127.0.0.1,port=51438,localport=8888]
Exception in thread "Thread-0" java.lang.NullPointerException
at com.server.ServeClient.run(ServeClient.java:33)
line 33 is the line with first "try" statement in ServeClient run() method

com.server.ServeClient.run(ServeClient.java:33)
I don't believe that it's happening at the try.
Open up an IDE, turn on debugging, and step through until you can see what's happening. That's the fastest way to figure out what you've missed.
There's an object that you're assuming is fine that is not. Find it.
Here's an example of how to do this properly:
http://www.kodejava.org/examples/216.html

Your problem is with the order in which static instance variables are initialised. Try doing something like:
...
private static Vector clients = null;
...
if (clients==null) {
clients = new Vector(); // consider putting this in a synchronized block
}
before you add the client to the vector.

Sorry for necroing such an old issue but it seemed like this problem wasn't resolved, so I'll give a bit of input from my end.
I've had a similar problem and the compiler also kept telling me that the problem was at the start() method. However, when I commented out the thread part and just ran the code on the same thread as the UI, the compiler directed me to the real source of the problem: the code inside the thread.
After making sure the code didn't give an error, I enclosed the code with the original thread code, and it stopped giving me the NullPointerException error.
Hope this helps someone along the way.

Remove the duplicate class declaration in JPanel.
I was trying to run a timer thread that updated a clock in the main application window.
I had created the JFrame with Eclipse/WindowBuilder and had followed a tutorial on how to make a timer. I had copied the declaration of the textfield into the class declaration to make it available for the entire class, but forgot to remove the Class Id in front of the widget definition. So it still initialized the local instance and not the global one. Thus when I accessed the global one it was still null.

Using Threads to Handle Sockets

I am working on a java program that is essentially a chat room. This is an assignment for class so no code please, I am just having some issues determining the most feasible way to handle what I need to do. I have a server program already setup for a single client using threads to get the data input stream and a thread to handle sending on the data output stream. What I need to do now is create a new thread for each incoming request.
My thought is to create a linked list to contain either the client sockets, or possibly the thread. Where I am stumbling is figuring out how to handle sending the messages out to all the clients. If I have a thread for each incoming message how can I then turn around and send that out to each client socket.
I'm thinking that if I had a linkedlist of the clientsockets I could then traverse the list and send it out to each one, but then I would have to create a dataoutputstream each time. Could I create a linkedlist of dataoutputstreams? Sorry if it sounds like I'm rambling but I don't want to just start coding this, it could get messy without a good plan. Thanks!
EDIT
I decided to post the code I have so far. I haven't had a chance to test it yet so any comments would be great. Thanks!
import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.DataOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.net.Socket;
import java.net.ServerSocket;
import java.util.LinkedList;
import java.util.concurrent.BlockingQueue;
import java.util.concurrent.LinkedBlockingQueue;
public class prog4_server {
// A Queue of Strings used to hold out bound Messages
// It blocks till on is available
static BlockingQueue<String> outboundMessages = new LinkedBlockingQueue<String>();
// A linked list of data output streams
// to all the clients
static LinkedList<DataOutputStream> outputstreams;
// public variables to track the number of clients
// and the state of the server
static Boolean serverstate = true;
static int clients = 0;
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException{
//create a server socket and a clientSocket
ServerSocket serverSocket = null;
try {
serverSocket = new ServerSocket(6789);
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println("Could not listen on port: 6789");
System.exit(-1);
}// try{...}catch(IOException e){...}
Socket clientSocket;
// start the output thread which waits for elements
// in the message queue
OutputThread out = new OutputThread();
out.start();
while(serverstate){
try {
// wait and accept a new client
// pass the socket to a new Input Thread
clientSocket = serverSocket.accept();
DataOutputStream ServerOut = new DataOutputStream(clientSocket.getOutputStream());
InputThread in = new InputThread(clientSocket, clients);
in.start();
outputstreams.add(ServerOut);
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println("Accept failed: 6789");
System.exit(-1);
}// try{...}catch{..}
// increment the number of clients and report
clients = clients++;
System.out.println("Client #" + clients + "Accepted");
}//while(serverstate){...
}//public static void main
public static class OutputThread extends Thread {
//OutputThread Class Constructor
OutputThread() {
}//OutputThread(...){...
public void run() {
//string variable to contain the message
String msg = null;
while(!this.interrupted()) {
try {
msg = outboundMessages.take();
for(int i=0;i<outputstreams.size();i++){
outputstreams.get(i).writeBytes(msg + '\n');
}// for(...){...
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println(e);
} catch (InterruptedException e){
System.out.println(e);
}//try{...}catch{...}
}//while(...){
}//public void run(){...
}// public OutputThread(){...
public static class InputThread extends Thread {
Boolean threadstate = true;
BufferedReader ServerIn;
String user;
int threadID;
//SocketThread Class Constructor
InputThread(Socket clientSocket, int ID) {
threadID = ID;
try{
ServerIn = new BufferedReader(
new InputStreamReader(clientSocket.getInputStream()));
user = ServerIn.readLine();
}
catch(IOException e){
System.out.println(e);
}
}// InputThread(...){...
public void run() {
String msg = null;
while (threadstate) {
try {
msg = ServerIn.readLine();
if(msg.equals("EXITEXIT")){
// if the client is exiting close the thread
// close the output stream with the same ID
// and decrement the number of clients
threadstate = false;
outputstreams.get(threadID).close();
outputstreams.remove(threadID);
clients = clients--;
if(clients == 0){
// if the number of clients has dropped to zero
// close the server
serverstate = false;
ServerIn.close();
}// if(clients == 0){...
}else{
// add a message to the message queue
outboundMessages.add(user + ": " + msg);
}//if..else...
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println(e);
}// try { ... } catch { ...}
}// while
}// public void run() { ...
}
public static class ServerThread extends Thread {
//public variable declaration
BufferedReader UserIn =
new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(System.in));
//OutputThread Class Constructor
ServerThread() {
}//OutputThread(...){...
public void run() {
//string variable to contain the message
String msg = null;
try {
//while loop will continue until
//exit command is received
//then send the exit command to all clients
msg = UserIn.readLine();
while (!msg.equals("EXITEXIT")) {
System.out.println("Enter Message: ");
msg = UserIn.readLine();
}//while(...){
outboundMessages.add(msg);
serverstate = false;
UserIn.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println(e);
}//try{...}catch{...}
}//public void run(){...
}// public serverThread(){...
}// public class prog4_server

I have solved this problem in the past by defining a "MessageHandler" class per client connection, responsible for inbound / outbound message traffic. Internally the handler uses a BlockingQueue implementation onto which outbound messages are placed (by internal worker threads). The I/O sender thread continually attempts to read from the queue (blocking if required) and sends each message retrieved to the client.
Here's some skeleton example code (untested):
/**
* Our Message definition. A message is capable of writing itself to
* a DataOutputStream.
*/
public interface Message {
void writeTo(DataOutputStream daos) throws IOException;
}
/**
* Handler definition. The handler contains two threads: One for sending
* and one for receiving messages. It is initialised with an open socket.
*/
public class MessageHandler {
private final DataOutputStream daos;
private final DataInputStream dais;
private final Thread sender;
private final Thread receiver;
private final BlockingQueue<Message> outboundMessages = new LinkedBlockingQueue<Message>();
public MessageHandler(Socket skt) throws IOException {
this.daos = new DataOutputStream(skt.getOutputStream());
this.dais = new DataInputStream(skt.getInputStream());
// Create sender and receiver threads responsible for performing the I/O.
this.sender = new Thread(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
while (!Thread.interrupted()) {
Message msg = outboundMessages.take(); // Will block until a message is available.
try {
msg.writeTo(daos);
} catch(IOException ex) {
// TODO: Handle exception
}
}
}
}, String.format("SenderThread-%s", skt.getRemoteSocketAddress()));
this.receiver = new Thread(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
// TODO: Read from DataInputStream and create inbound message.
}
}, String.format("ReceiverThread-%s", skt.getRemoteSocketAddress()));
sender.start();
receiver.start();
}
/**
* Submits a message to the outbound queue, ready for sending.
*/
public void sendOutboundMessage(Message msg) {
outboundMessages.add(msg);
}
public void destroy() {
// TODO: Interrupt and join with threads. Close streams and socket.
}
}
Note that Nikolai is correct in that blocking I/O using 1 (or 2) threads per connection is not a scalable solution and typically applications might be written using Java NIO to get round this. However, in reality unless you're writing an enterprise server which thousands of clients connect to simultaneously then this isn't really an issue. Writing bug-free scalable applications using Java NIO is difficult and certainly not something I'd recommend.