Minitalk - Inter-Process Communication with Unix Signals

Minitalk is a project from the 42 São Paulo Common Core curriculum. It implements a simple communication system between a server and a client using UNIX signals to transmit messages.

About 42

42 São Paulo is a tuition-free, global coding school emphasizing peer-to-peer learning and project-based education. This project explores signal handling and inter-process communication in C.

Project Overview

Minitalk consists of two programs: a server and a client. The server receives messages from the client via UNIX signals (SIGUSR1 and SIGUSR2), decoding and displaying them. The client sends messages to the server by converting text into binary signals. It’s divided into:

• Mandatory Part: Basic server-client communication.
• Bonus Part: Enhanced version with acknowledgment and additional features.

Note: Although a bonus directory exists, the mandatory part already fulfills the bonus requirements (e.g., acknowledgment via signals). Thus, the bonus part is merely a duplicate of the mandatory part.

Key Features

• Server displays received messages instantly.
• Client sends messages to the server using its PID.
• Uses SIGUSR1 and SIGUSR2 for bit-by-bit transmission.
• Bonus: server confirms message receipt with a signal back to the client.
• Integrates with libft for utility functions.

Restrictions

• Written in C, compliant with the 42 Norm.
• No unexpected crashes (e.g., segmentation faults).
• No memory leaks from heap allocations.
• Compiled with -Wall -Wextra -Werror.
• Relies solely on signals for communication, no shared memory or pipes.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• C compiler (e.g., clang).
• make utility.
• libft library in the project root.

How to Build and Run

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/LuizGandra/minitalk-42.git
   cd minitalk-42
   

2. Build the mandatory part:

   make
   

3. Build the bonus part (optional):

   make bonus
   

4. Run the server:

   ./server
   

5. Run the client in a separate terminal:

   ./client <server_pid> <message>
   

Additional commands

• make clean: remove object files.
• make fclean: remove the program and object files.
• make re: rebuild everything.

Project Structure

• minitalk.h: header for mandatory part.
• src/server.c: server logic for receiving signals.
• src/client.c: client logic for sending signals.
• minitalk_bonus.h: header for bonus part.
• bonus/server_bonus.c: src/server.c copy.
• bonus/client_bonus.c: src/client.c copy.
• Makefile: compilation automation.
• libft/: directory for the libft library.

License

This project is part of the 42 curriculum and intended for educational use.