🗨️ Chat System using Python Sockets and Tkinter

📘 Overview

This project is a real-time chat application built using Python’s socket and threading libraries, along with a Tkinter-based GUI for the client interface.
It enables multiple clients to connect to a single server and exchange messages instantly.

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🏗️ Project Structure

Chat-System/ │ ├── server.py # Handles all incoming client connections and message broadcasting ├── client.py # Provides GUI interface for chatting └── README.md # Documentation (this file)

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⚙️ How It Works

Server Side (server.py)

1. Creates a TCP socket to listen for incoming connections.
2. Uses multi-threading to handle multiple clients concurrently.
3. Broadcasts each message to all connected clients.
4. Gracefully removes disconnected clients to maintain stability.

Client Side (client.py)

1. Connects to the server using its IP and port number.
2. Provides a Tkinter GUI where users can type and send messages.
3. Uses a separate thread to receive incoming messages asynchronously.
4. Displays chat history in a scrollable text area.

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🚀 How to Run the Project

Step 1: Run the Server

python3 server.py

You should see a message like:

Server started on IP 127.0.0.1 and port 55555
Waiting for connections...

Enter your username when prompted and start chatting!

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🧩 Key Features

1. Real-time chat communication
2. Multi-client support via threading
3. Simple and elegant Tkinter GUI
4. Message broadcasting to all users
5. Handles client disconnections gracefully

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🧠 Approach Summary

1. Socket Programming: Used TCP sockets to enable communication between server and clients.
2. Concurrency: Used Python’s threading module so that each client runs independently
3. GUI Design: Built with Tkinter, ensuring smooth message sending and real-time updates.
4. Problem Handling: Implemented safe socket closure and message queue handling to prevent crashes.

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🧾 Example Output

Server Terminal:

New connection: 127.0.0.1
User joined: Alice
Message from Bob: Hello everyone!

Client Window:

Alice: Hi Bob!
Bob: Hello everyone!