TCP server-client and serialization

[eggmanpete]

Hi Chaps, I'm having a problem with my TCP server.

Looking at the code below, my client never receives the serialized object back from the threaded server.

Client:

package networkTCP;

import java.io.ObjectInputStream;
import java.io.Serializable;
import java.net.*;
import java.io.*;
import java.util.ArrayList;

public class tcpclient implements Serializable
{
	public static ArrayList board = new ArrayList();
	public void setupConnection()
	{

	}
	public static ArrayList tcpsend(String coords) throws Exception
	{

		Socket echoSocket = null;
		PrintWriter out = null;
		BufferedReader in = null;
		//start socket, and send console text input
		System.out.println("pressed");
		try
		{
		    echoSocket = new Socket("127.0.0.1", 2323);
			out = new PrintWriter(echoSocket.getOutputStream(), true);
			//send coords to server
			out.println(coords);
			System.out.println("sent coords: " + coords);
			//InputStreamReader strmRead = new
			//InputStreamReader(echoSocket.getInputStream());
			//in = new BufferedReader(strmRead);

			// wait for reply from server
			System.out.println("Still alive?");
			Socket serialsocket = new Socket("127.0.0.1", 2323);
			System.out.println("Still alive?");
			InputStream instr = serialsocket.getInputStream();
			System.out.println("waiting for board object to be returned!");
			ObjectInputStream ois = new ObjectInputStream(instr);
			ois.close();
			System.out.println("board object returned");
			board = (ArrayList) ois.readObject();
			//out.close();
			//in.close();
			//serialsocket.close();
			//echoSocket.close();
			//Thread.sleep(1000);


			int x = 0;
			while (x != board.size()) {
				System.out.println(board.get(x));
				x++;
			}
			x=0;


		} catch (UnknownHostException e) {
		    System.err.println("Don't know about host: 127.0.0.1.");
		    System.exit(1);
		} catch (IOException e) {
		    System.err.println("Couldn't get I/O for "
				       + "the connection to: 127.0.0.1.");
		    System.exit(1);
		}
		return board;
	}
	public static void main (String args[]) throws Exception
	{
		ArrayList board2 = new ArrayList();
		board2 = tcpsend("3,2");
	}
}

Server thread:

package networkTCP;

import java.net.*;
import java.io.*;
import java.util.ArrayList;

public class tcpserverthread extends tcpserver
{
	private Socket socket = null;

	public tcpserverthread(Socket socket)
	{
		//super("tcpserverthread");
		this.socket = socket;
	}
	public void run() {
		try {
		PrintWriter out = new PrintWriter(socket.getOutputStream(), true);
		BufferedReader in = new BufferedReader(
					new InputStreamReader(
					socket.getInputStream()));
		String inputLine = new String();
		while((inputLine = in.readLine()) != null)
		{
			String[] splitInput = inputLine.split(",");
			String colStr = new String (splitInput[0]);
			String rowStr = new String (splitInput[1]);
			int row = new Integer (Integer.parseInt(rowStr));
			int col = new Integer (Integer.parseInt(colStr));
			ArrayList finishBoard = new ArrayList();
			finishBoard = board.updateBoard(col, row);
			System.out.println(finishBoard);
			// Not sending object correctly, fix below
			Socket serialsocket = socket;
			System.out.println(serialsocket.getPort());
			OutputStream oStream = serialsocket.getOutputStream();
			ObjectOutputStream ooStream = new ObjectOutputStream(oStream);
			ooStream.writeObject(finishBoard);
			out.println(ooStream);
			System.out.println("done sending");
			//ooStream.close();
		inputLine = null;
		}

	}
	catch (IOException e)
	{
	    e.printStackTrace();
	}

    }
}

Server:

package networkTCP;
import java.net.*;
import java.io.*;
import java.io.Serializable;
import java.util.ArrayList;

public class tcpserver implements Serializable
{
	public static gameboard.board board = new gameboard.board();
	public static void serverstart() throws IOException, InterruptedException
	{
		ServerSocket serverSocket = null;
		boolean listening = true;
		System.out.println("test");
		try {
		    serverSocket = new ServerSocket(2323);
		} catch (IOException e) {
		    System.err.println("listen error on port: 2323.");
		    System.exit(1);
		}
		while (listening)
		{
			new tcpserverthread(serverSocket.accept()).run();
			System.out.println(serverSocket.getLocalPort());
		}
		//serverSocket.close();
	}

	public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException, InterruptedException {
		serverstart();
	}
}

Sorry about the length of the code..

The output from the client is:

run:
pressed
sent coords: 3,2
Still alive?
Still alive?
waiting for board object to be returned!

The output from the server is:

run:
test
 (correct arraylist object here!)
33161
done sending

Cheers for any help.
Pete

[toadaly]

Try adding a ooStream.flush(). It might be buffered up.

[CJSLMAN]

I'm not a TCP server-client expert, so if I say something increadably stupid...
shouldn't you be trying to receive info back on the same client socket instance that was used to send to the server?
You used this instance to send:

echoSocket = new Socket("127.0.0.1", 2323);
out = new PrintWriter(echoSocket.getOutputStream(), true);
out.println(coords);

but you try to receive on this socket instance:

Socket serialsocket = new Socket("127.0.0.1", 2323);

Also, you close an object and then try to do something with it:

ois.close();
System.out.println("board object returned");
board = (ArrayList) ois.readObject();

Luck,
CJSL

[eggmanpete]

You used this instance to send:

echoSocket = new Socket("127.0.0.1", 2323);
out = new PrintWriter(echoSocket.getOutputStream(), true);
out.println(coords);

but you try to receive on this socket instance:

Socket serialsocket = new Socket("127.0.0.1", 2323);

Ah I see now, I must have been very tired and low on caffeine to not notice that.
I've changed it to

InputStream instr = echoSocket.getInputStream();

and it has indeed returned the game board.

Now I just need to get more than 1 client connecting to the server.... :D