Minitalk

Minitalk is a system programming project from Ecole 42 that focuses on inter-process communication using UNIX signals. The project requires building a small data exchange program between a server and a client using only two signals: SIGUSR1 and SIGUSR2. The client will send a string to the server, which will then display the string.

Project Overview

The Minitalk project involves two primary programs:

• Server: This program will wait to receive messages from the client. Once it receives a message, it will display it.
• Client: This program will send a string message to the server, character by character, using UNIX signals.

Goals

The main objectives of the project are:

• To understand how processes communicate via signals.
• To learn how to handle and manage UNIX signals.
• To improve low-level programming skills, particularly in C.
• To ensure reliable data transmission between processes.

How It Works

• The server program starts and prints its process ID (PID), waiting to receive a message from the client.
• The client program takes the server's PID and a string as arguments. It sends the string to the server using SIGUSR1 and SIGUSR2 signals to represent binary data.
• The server receives the signals, decodes the binary data into characters, and prints the message.

Setup Instructions

1. Use make to compile both the server and client programs

2. Start the server:

   ./server

   This will output the server's PID, which you will need for the client.

3. Use the client to send a message to the server:

   ./client <server_pid> "Your message here"

   The server will receive the message and print it.