DTChat Backend

A distributed chat application backend written in Rust that supports peer-to-peer communication over multiple network protocols (UDP, TCP, and Bundle Protocol).

Dependencies

• socket-engine: Custom networking engine for handling UDP and TCP connections

Features

• Multi-protocol Support: TCP, UDP, and Bundle Protocol (BP) communication
• Peer-to-Peer Architecture: Direct communication between chat clients
• Message Acknowledgment: Built-in message delivery confirmation system
• Real-time Terminal Interface: Live chat display with network and application events
• Protocol Buffers: Efficient message serialization using protobuf
• Message Status Tracking: Track message states (sending, sent, acknowledged, failed)
• UUID-based Identification: Unique identification for peers and messages

Architecture

The application consists of several key components:

• ChatModel: Core chat logic and peer management
• TerminalScreen: Interactive terminal-based user interface
• Message System: Handles chat messages with status tracking
• Event System: Network and application event management
• Protocol Buffer Messages: Structured message format for network communication

Usage

Basic Setup

The application requires two arguments:

1. Local endpoint: The address this instance will listen on
2. Remote endpoint: The address of the peer to connect to

Quick Test with UDP

To test the chat functionality using UDP/BP/TCP protocol:

# Terminal 1 (First peer)
cargo run -- "<PROTOCOL> 127.0.0.1:7777" "<PROTOCOL> 127.0.0.1:6666"

# Terminal 2 (Second peer)
cargo run -- "<PROTOCOL> 127.0.0.1:6666" "<PROTOCOL> 127.0.0.1:7777"

Supported Protocols

• UDP: udp <ip>:<port>
• TCP: tcp <ip>:<port>
• Bundle Protocol: bp <address>

Message Protocol

Messages use Protocol Buffers with the following structure:

message ProtoMessage {
  string uuid = 1;
  string sender_uuid = 2;
  int64 timestamp = 3;
  string room_uuid = 4;
  
  oneof msg_type {
    TextMessage text = 5;
    AckMessage ack = 6;
  }
}

Message Types

• TextMessage: Regular chat messages containing text content
• AckMessage: Acknowledgment messages confirming receipt

Terminal Interface

The application provides a real-time terminal interface displaying:

• Chat Messages: Recent messages with timestamps and status indicators
• Network Events: Connection status, data transmission events
• Application Events: Internal application state changes
• Message Status: Visual indicators for message delivery states

Message Status Indicators

• SENDING: Message is being transmitted
• SENT: Message has been sent successfully
• ACKED: Message has been acknowledged by recipient
• FAILED: Message transmission failed
• RECEIVED: Message received from peer