Purpose

The purpose of this project is to implement a Remote Procedure Call (RPC) protocol, a communication protocol widely used to enable a program to request a service from a program located on another computer in a network. RPC is a key technique in distributed systems and networked applications, as it allows processes to communicate and execute functions as if they were running locally, making networked applications more seamless and efficient.

This project aims to:

• Demonstrate basic RPC functionality by establishing a client-server model where the client can call procedures (functions) on the server remotely, with the necessary arguments and data being transmitted across a network.
• Implement core networking components like sockets and data serialization, which are essential for sending complex data structures and requests over a network reliably.
• Handle common RPC use cases by developing a robust protocol that includes error handling, function mapping, and response processing, enabling functions to be dynamically located and executed on the server.
• Introduce students to distributed computing concepts by allowing them to create, test, and debug applications that work across a network, a foundational skill in network programming and systems design.

This project is an essential exercise in network programming, socket management, and distributed systems, allowing students to understand the fundamentals of remote communications in a controlled environment.

File Description

File	Description
rpc.c rpc.h	main rpc logic
send_recv_rpc_data.c send_recv_rpc_data.h	send/receive rpc_data (refer to rpc.h) structure through the socket
dataStructure.c dataStructure.h	data structure helpers
protocol.txt	protocol description
client.c	a very simple rpc test client
server.c	a very simple rpc test server
server.a client.a	advanced testing framework artifacts, the name "server/client" clashed with server.c, client.c, but they are not relevant with each other

Compilation

(Notice: some complied artifacts in Makefile are for marking purpose)

Main Artifacts

make

Very Simple Test client/server

make
make cs

Advanced marking frameworks

make
make ci

clean main

make clean

clean advanced marking frameworks executable

make clean-ci

Run Very Simple test client/server after compiling

Server Terminal Window

./server

Client Terminal Window

./client

server terminal window

add2: arguments 127 and 127
multi2: arguments 0 and 100
multi2: arguments 1 and 100

client terminal window

ERROR: Function add3 does not exist
successfully found multi2 on server
successfully found add2 on server
Result of adding 127 and 127: 254
Result of multipling 0 and 100: 0
Result of multipling 1 and 100: 100

Run advanced marking framework

input: *.in
sample output: *.out

server terminal window

./ci-server < cases/1+1/server.in

client terminal window

./ci-client < cases/1+1/client.in

or check diff simultaneously

./ci-client < cases/1+1/client.in | diff - cases/1+1/client.out