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Sockets

ARO provides built-in TCP socket support for bidirectional real-time communication. This chapter covers socket servers and clients.

Socket Server

Starting a Server

Listen for TCP connections in Application-Start:

(Application-Start: Socket Server) {
    <Listen> on port 9000 as <socket-server>.
    <Log> "Socket server listening on port 9000" to the <console>.
    <Keepalive> the <application> for the <events>.
    <Return> an <OK: status> for the <startup>.
}

Connection Events

Socket servers emit events for connection lifecycle:

EventWhen Triggered
ClientConnectedClient connects
DataReceivedData received from client
ClientDisconnectedClient disconnects

Handling Connections

(Handle Connection: ClientConnected Handler) {
    <Extract> the <connection-id> from the <event: connectionId>.
    <Extract> the <remote-address> from the <event: remoteAddress>.

    <Log> "Client connected: ${remote-address}" to the <console>.

    (* Send welcome message *)
    <Send> the <welcome> to the <event: connection> with "Welcome to the server!".

    <Return> an <OK: status> for the <connection>.
}

Receiving Data

(Handle Data: DataReceived Handler) {
    <Extract> the <data> from the <event: data>.
    <Extract> the <connection> from the <event: connection>.
    <Extract> the <connection-id> from the <event: connectionId>.

    <Log> "Received from ${connection-id}: ${data}" to the <console>.

    (* Process the data *)
    <Process> the <response> from the <data>.

    (* Send response back *)
    <Send> the <response> to the <connection>.

    <Return> an <OK: status> for the <data>.
}

Handling Disconnections

(Handle Disconnect: ClientDisconnected Handler) {
    <Extract> the <connection-id> from the <event: connectionId>.
    <Extract> the <reason> from the <event: reason>.

    <Log> "Client ${connection-id} disconnected: ${reason}" to the <console>.

    (* Clean up client state *)
    <Delete> the <client-state> from the <client-registry> where id = <connection-id>.

    <Return> an <OK: status> for the <disconnect>.
}

Socket Client

Connecting to a Server

(Connect to Server: External Service) {
    <Connect> to <host: "192.168.1.100"> on port 8080 as <server-connection>.

    (* Send initial handshake *)
    <Send> the <handshake> to the <server-connection> with { type: "hello", client: "my-app" }.

    <Return> an <OK: status> for the <connection>.
}

Sending Data

(Send Message: Messaging) {
    <Create> the <message> with {
        type: "chat",
        content: <content>,
        timestamp: <current-time>
    }.

    <Send> the <message: JSON> to the <server-connection>.

    <Return> an <OK: status> for the <send>.
}

Common Patterns

Echo Server

(Application-Start: Echo Server) {
    <Listen> on port 9000 as <echo-server>.
    <Log> "Echo server listening on port 9000" to the <console>.
    <Keepalive> the <application> for the <events>.
    <Return> an <OK: status> for the <startup>.
}

(Echo Data: DataReceived Handler) {
    <Extract> the <data> from the <event: data>.
    <Extract> the <connection> from the <event: connection>.

    (* Echo back the received data *)
    <Send> the <data> to the <connection>.

    <Return> an <OK: status> for the <echo>.
}

Chat Server

(Application-Start: Chat Server) {
    <Listen> on port 9000 as <chat-server>.
    <Create> the <clients> with [].
    <Publish> as <connected-clients> <clients>.
    <Keepalive> the <application> for the <events>.
    <Return> an <OK: status> for the <startup>.
}

(Register Client: ClientConnected Handler) {
    <Extract> the <connection> from the <event: connection>.
    <Extract> the <connection-id> from the <event: connectionId>.

    (* Add to connected clients *)
    <Store> the <connection> into the <connected-clients> with id <connection-id>.

    (* Notify others *)
    <Broadcast> the <announcement> to the <chat-server> with "User joined".

    <Return> an <OK: status> for the <registration>.
}

(Broadcast Message: DataReceived Handler) {
    <Extract> the <message> from the <event: data>.
    <Extract> the <sender-id> from the <event: connectionId>.

    <Create> the <broadcast> with {
        from: <sender-id>,
        message: <message>,
        timestamp: <current-time>
    }.

    (* Send to all connected clients *)
    <Broadcast> the <broadcast: JSON> to the <chat-server>.

    <Return> an <OK: status> for the <broadcast>.
}

Data Formats

Text Data

<Send> the <text> to the <connection> with "Hello, World!".

JSON Data

<Create> the <message> with {
    type: "update",
    data: { value: 42 }
}.
<Send> the <message: JSON> to the <connection>.

Broadcasting

To All Clients

<Broadcast> the <message> to the <socket-server>.

To Specific Clients

(* Send to specific connection *)
<Send> the <message> to the <connection>.

(* Send to connection by ID *)
<Retrieve> the <client> from the <connected-clients> where id = <client-id>.
<Send> the <message> to the <client: connection>.

Best Practices

Validate Incoming Data

(Handle Data: DataReceived Handler) {
    <Extract> the <raw-data> from the <event: data>.

    (* Validate data format *)
    <Parse> the <message: JSON> from the <raw-data>.

    if <message> is empty then {
        <Log> "Invalid message format" to the <console>.
        <Return> an <OK: status> for the <validation>.
    }

    <Validate> the <message> for the <message-schema>.

    (* Process valid message *)
    <Process> the <result> from the <message>.
    <Return> an <OK: status> for the <processing>.
}

Clean Up on Shutdown

(Application-End: Success) {
    <Log> "Closing all connections..." to the <console>.

    (* Notify all clients *)
    <Broadcast> the <shutdown-notice> to the <socket-server> with "Server shutting down".

    (* Close server *)
    <Close> the <socket-server>.

    <Return> an <OK: status> for the <shutdown>.
}

Next Steps

Events - Event-driven patterns
HTTP Services - HTTP communication
Application Lifecycle - Startup and shutdown