Client-Server Networking Using TCP
Personal Project
The Need This Fulfills
This code fulfills the need for a simple, networked multiplayer solution using a Tic-Tac-Toe game to demonstrates key networking concepts using TCP/IP protocols. It shows how to establish reliable, connection-oriented communication between a server and multiple clients, and ensures data packets are delivered in the correct order and without loss. While simple, this structure can be expanded for more complex turn-based games.
Tic-Tac-Toe With TCP
TCP Communication and Data Structure
I built a tic-tac-toe game in python which uses TCP sockets to establish reliable, ordered, and error-checked communication. The server listens for incoming connections, and each client establishes a connection by specifying the server's IP address. Once a connection is established, data is sent and received using .sendall() and .recv() methods. These ensure the data packets arrive fully intact and in order, which is crucial for maintaining the correct game state. The game board is stored as a list of 9 strings representing spaces on the board, which is updated and shared between both players. The server handles all changes to the game state, ensuring synchronization.
Networking and Synchronization
The server waits for two client connections before starting the game. Each player is assigned a symbol: 'X' or 'O'. The server designates one of them to start the game, and the server then continuously listens for incoming data from clients. On each player's turn, the server sends a message prompting them to make a move. The client reads this message, waits for the user's input, and sends the chosen move back to the server. The server verifies each move to ensure it's valid within the range 0-8 and placed in an empty slot. If valid, the move is recorded on the board, and the current turn is swapped to the other player. After every successful move, the server sends the updated game board to both clients, ensuring their displays remain synchronized.
Game Logic and State Management
The server continuously checks for a winner using the check_winner() function, which evaluates predefined win conditions (rows, columns, diagonals). If a winner is detected, the server broadcasts a victory message to both clients and terminates their connections. The server handles multiple players using threading, ensuring that both clients can communicate with the server simultaneously.