Java - How to keep a live socket connection

Question

Ok guys im not that experienced so take it easy on me.

Ok so i have 2 programs, one for the server (my pc) and one for the client(other pcs) and this is the setup

server listens/accepts > client connects > server sends command to client > client executes.

and thats it, after that it disconnects BUT i need the client to stay connected so the server can keep sending commands as needed.

How can i achieve this?

I can provide more info if need just ask. thanks for all the help guys.

Answer 1

The server will receive a socket when accept() returns, and as long as that socket does not get closed then the connection remains open. The client will then run in a loop of read/execute-command until the server closes the connection. I can provide more details if needed.

Answer 2

There's a few official examples to get you started with Java sockets . Plus since its Java, getting this setup is pretty easy.

As Kevin already said, you'll open up a ServerSocket on some open port. Then call accept() which will return when a client connects with a Socket on the same port as the ServerSocket.

Also, make sure you pay attention to the specified host if you want the client program to connect from a computer different from the host. You might run into trouble with the loopback interface if you specify the host as "null" or "127.0.0.1".