SocketChat

Overview

SocketChat is a WebSocket-based chat application built to demonstrate WebSockets support in Spring Boot. The application allows real-time communication between clients, making it ideal for scenarios that require instant messaging, like chatrooms. The frontend is built using vanilla JavaScript, while the backend is powered by Spring Boot (Java). Currently, the app supports basic chat functionalities, and work is underway to implement multi-room support.

Features

• Real-time messaging between users using WebSockets.
• Vanilla JavaScript frontend for a lightweight and fast user experience.
• Spring Boot backend with WebSocket integration for seamless communication.
• Easy-to-use interface to send and receive messages in real-time.

Technologies Used

• Backend:

  • Spring Boot for building the backend service.
  • WebSocket for real-time, full-duplex communication between clients and the server.

• Frontend:

  • Vanilla JavaScript for handling client-side operations.
  • HTML/CSS for the user interface.

Current Features

• Basic Chat Functionality: Send and receive messages in real-time.
• Single Room Chat: Initial version supports a single chat room for all users.

Work in Progress

• Multi-Room Support: Currently working on enabling multiple chat rooms, where users can join different rooms based on topics or interests.
• User Authentication: Future enhancements include adding user authentication to allow private messaging and secure access to rooms.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Java 8 or higher
• Maven
• Node.js (for frontend development)

Backend Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/socketchat.git
   cd socketchat

2. Navigate to the backend directory and build the project with Maven:

cd backend
mvn clean install

3. Run the Spring Boot application:

mvn spring-boot:run
The backend should now be running at http://localhost:8080.

Usage

After the backend has setup, go to http://localhost:8080. You can open this another tab or window and see how it works.

Conclusion

SocketChat is a simple, real-time WebSocket-based chat application that highlights the power of Spring Boot and WebSocket integration. This app served me a great starting point for learning about real-time communication and how it can be implemented in a full-stack application.