ZMsgServer
Introduction
ZMsgServer is a peer-to-peer LAN messaging application written in the Java programming language. I have successfully tested the application on a variety of platforms, under a variety of network conditions, and even in its infancy, it is a very nicely featured application. I use it regularly for sending "reminders" and code-snippets across the network to other machines. A fast and simple way to get a message to another user on the LAN.
Overview
Until I get some more comprehensive documentation online, here is
a brief overview of how ZMsgServer works. Each machine on the
LAN runs an instance of the server, listening on port 7999. If
you have another service on your network that uses port 7999, then
change the source to a free port. I'll make this configurable via the
GUI in a later version.
When another host wants sends a message, it uses the next available
port to broadcast the message, which is received via port 7999 on the
recipient machine. Messages are sent via an ObjectOutputStream and
are instances of the ZMessage class, which is nothing more
than a nice neat container for four strings. These messages are
received on the targets machine, decomposed, and displayed on the GUI.
When the documentation is online, all will become clear, but for now,
download the source code below, as it's the best documentation
available!
Screenshot
A screenshot of ZMsgServer in action (on a Windoze box) can be found HERE.
Download
You can download the source code tarball HERE. The code is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public Licence.
