Chat Application with Flask and SocketIO

This is a simple real-time chat application built with Flask, Flask-SocketIO, and SQLite. It allows users to register, log in, and join a chat room where they can send and receive messages in real-time.

Features

• User Registration: Users can register by creating a unique username and password. Passwords are hashed using bcrypt for security.
• User Login: Users can log in using their credentials. The application compares the hashed password stored in the database with the entered password.
• Real-Time Chat: Users can chat with each other in real-time using SocketIO. Messages are broadcast to all connected clients.
• Session Management: User sessions are managed using Flask’s built-in session system to keep track of logged-in users.

Technologies Used

• Flask: Web framework for building the application.
• Flask-SocketIO: Real-time communication library for Flask that enables WebSocket support.
• SQLite: Lightweight database for storing user credentials.
• bcrypt: Password hashing library used to securely store user passwords.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x
• pip (Python package installer)

Run the Application

After installing the dependencies, you can start the application by running:

python app.py

By default, the application will be accessible at http://localhost:5000/.

Database

The application uses SQLite to store user data. The database file chatroom.db will be created automatically when the application runs for the first time. If the database does not exist, the application will create it with the following schema:

• users table:
  • id: Integer, Primary Key, Auto Increment
  • username: Text, Unique (used for user login)
  • password: Text (hashed password)

Routes

• / (GET): Displays the registration and login form.
• /register (POST): Registers a new user. It accepts username and password from the form, hashes the password, and stores it in the database.
• /login (POST): Logs in an existing user. It accepts username and password, verifies the password using bcrypt, and redirects to the chat room if the login is successful.
• /chat (GET): Displays the chat room where logged-in users can send and receive messages.

Real-Time Chat with SocketIO

• send_message: Emitted from the client when a user sends a message. This event broadcasts the message to all connected clients.
• receive_message: Received by all connected clients to display incoming messages.

Security Considerations

• Password Hashing: User passwords are hashed using bcrypt before being stored in the database, making it difficult for attackers to retrieve original passwords even if the database is compromised.
• Session Management: Flask’s built-in session management ensures that users are properly authenticated and only logged-in users can access the chat room.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License

Contributing

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature-name).
3. Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Add new feature').
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature-name).
5. Create a new Pull Request.

Acknowledgments

• Flask: For building the web application.
• Flask-SocketIO: For enabling real-time communication in the chat application.
• bcrypt: For securely hashing passwords.
• SQLite: For lightweight database storage.