Java client/server application with sockets?

Question

I'm writing a java package that will be called by another language (matlab). If my matlab process ends, I want the Java process to keep running. Whenever matlab starts again, it should be able to communicate with the existing running process. So I think I need to have the Java application communicating through sockets in a client/server model. I envision having a simple set of functions:

• startServer(host, port)
• runCommand(server, command...)
• stopServer(host, port)

I have never done anything like this before. Am I thinking about it in the right way, or is there an easier way of building an application that can run independently of it's parent's process? What's the best modern way of doing this (e.g. are there any good Apache packages)? Can anyone provide a simple demo or point me to a tutorial on communicating with a process through sockets?

[Edit] For some clarification, matlab is able to instantiate a java object and run java code within itself. So the startServer() function in matlab would run java code that will check if a java process is already running on that port and if not, start the server process.

I'm not tied to using sockets by any means (in case it isn't obvious, I'm mostly a matlab developer), so if there's something easier, I'm all for it. I just need to be able to run things independently of matlab, but have matlab control those processes (through java).

Answer 1

The server listens for a connection. When a connection is established by a client. The client can send data. In the current example the client sends the message "Hi my server". To terminate the connection, the client sends the message "bye". Then the server sends the message "bye" too. Finally the connection is ended and the server waits for an other connection. The two programs should be running in the same machine. however if you want to run them in two different machines, you may simply change the address "localhost" by the IP address of the machine where you will run the server.

The server

import java.io.*;
import java.net.*;
public class Provider{
    ServerSocket providerSocket;
    Socket connection = null;
    ObjectOutputStream out;
    ObjectInputStream in;
    String message;
    Provider(){}
    void run()
    {
        try{
            //1. creating a server socket
            providerSocket = new ServerSocket(2004, 10);
            //2. Wait for connection
            System.out.println("Waiting for connection");
            connection = providerSocket.accept();
            System.out.println("Connection received from " + connection.getInetAddress().getHostName());
            //3. get Input and Output streams
            out = new ObjectOutputStream(connection.getOutputStream());
            out.flush();
            in = new ObjectInputStream(connection.getInputStream());
            sendMessage("Connection successful");
            //4. The two parts communicate via the input and output streams
            do{
                try{
                    message = (String)in.readObject();
                    System.out.println("client>" + message);
                    if (message.equals("bye"))
                        sendMessage("bye");
                }
                catch(ClassNotFoundException classnot){
                    System.err.println("Data received in unknown format");
                }
            }while(!message.equals("bye"));
        }
        catch(IOException ioException){
            ioException.printStackTrace();
        }
        finally{
            //4: Closing connection
            try{
                in.close();
                out.close();
                providerSocket.close();
            }
            catch(IOException ioException){
                ioException.printStackTrace();
            }
        }
    }
    void sendMessage(String msg)
    {
        try{
            out.writeObject(msg);
            out.flush();
            System.out.println("server>" + msg);
        }
        catch(IOException ioException){
            ioException.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
    public static void main(String args[])
    {
        Provider server = new Provider();
        while(true){
            server.run();
        }
    }
}

The client

import java.io.*;
import java.net.*;
public class Requester{
    Socket requestSocket;
    ObjectOutputStream out;
    ObjectInputStream in;
    String message;
    Requester(){}
    void run()
    {
        try{
            //1. creating a socket to connect to the server
            requestSocket = new Socket("localhost", 2004);
            System.out.println("Connected to localhost in port 2004");
            //2. get Input and Output streams
            out = new ObjectOutputStream(requestSocket.getOutputStream());
            out.flush();
            in = new ObjectInputStream(requestSocket.getInputStream());
            //3: Communicating with the server
            do{
                try{
                    message = (String)in.readObject();
                    System.out.println("server>" + message);
                    sendMessage("Hi my server");
                    message = "bye";
                    sendMessage(message);
                }
                catch(ClassNotFoundException classNot){
                    System.err.println("data received in unknown format");
                }
            }while(!message.equals("bye"));
        }
        catch(UnknownHostException unknownHost){
            System.err.println("You are trying to connect to an unknown host!");
        }
        catch(IOException ioException){
            ioException.printStackTrace();
        }
        finally{
            //4: Closing connection
            try{
                in.close();
                out.close();
                requestSocket.close();
            }
            catch(IOException ioException){
                ioException.printStackTrace();
            }
        }
    }
    void sendMessage(String msg)
    {
        try{
            out.writeObject(msg);
            out.flush();
            System.out.println("client>" + msg);
        }
        catch(IOException ioException){
            ioException.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
    public static void main(String args[])
    {
        Requester client = new Requester();
        client.run();
    }
}