My Simple Office

Due to the number of requests that we've had from individuals wanting to write socket connection code for the Android, we have provided the following code sample for sending and receiving text to a server computer. Note - this will not compile as some of the proprietary protocol that we use has been removed. But this does show what is required to make a simple socket connection.

package com.Mso.ServiceTech;

import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.io.OutputStream;
import java.net.InetSocketAddress;
import java.net.Socket;
import java.net.SocketAddress;
import java.util.Arrays;
import org.json.JSONArray;
import org.json.JSONObject;
import android.app.ProgressDialog;
import android.content.Context;
import android.os.Handler;
import android.os.Message;

Note that you will likely need to set permissions:
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />

public class SocketConnection 
{
	private String IP = "";
	private int Port = 0;	
	private boolean IsConnected = false;
	private Socket socket = null;
	private OutputStream outputstream = null;
	private ByteArrayOutputStream bytewriter = null;
	private BufferedReader reader = null;
	private int ReadChunkSize = 1024;
	
	private ProgressDialog ServerProgressDialog;
	private MSOServiceTechApp Application;
	private String ServerFileName;
	private String LocalFileName;
	public boolean CommandResult; //for threaded
	
	public JSONObject CommandJSON; //for making the command to the server

public String ErrorMessage = "";
	public JSONObject OutputJSON;
	
	private int dbMessageBufferSize = 5000; //5K chunks
	
	public SocketConnection()
	{
	}
		
	private boolean DoConnect(String ip, int port)
	{
		//see if it is already connected
		if(IsConnected)
		{
			ErrorMessage = "";
			return true;
		}	
		
		//set the variables and connect
		IP = ip;
		Port = port;
		try
		{
			socket = new Socket();		
			SocketAddress SocketAddressClass = new InetSocketAddress(IP, Port);
			socket.connect(SocketAddressClass, 4500); 
			outputstream = socket.getOutputStream();
			bytewriter = new ByteArrayOutputStream(dbMessageBufferSize);
			reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(socket.getInputStream())); 	
			IsConnected = true;
			ErrorMessage = "";
		}
		catch(Exception e)
		{		
			socket = null;
			bytewriter = null;
			reader = null;
			IsConnected = false;
			ErrorMessage = e.toString();
			return false;
		}		
		
		return true;
	}
	
	//set UserSeq in application
	private boolean DoLogin(MSOServiceTechApp application, String UserID, String Password, String AccessKey, String ProgramID)
	{
		application.UserSeq = "";
		try
		{
			//don't waste the server's time if one of the fields is blank
			if( (UserID == "") || (Password == "") )
			{
				ErrorMessage = "Login Error: Blank User ID or Password";
				IsConnected = false;
				Disconnect();
				return false;				
			}
			
			CommandJSON = new JSONObject(); 
			CommandJSON.put("ServerCommand", "LoginDoLogin");
			CommandJSON.put("UserID", UserID);
			CommandJSON.put("Password", Password);
			CommandJSON.put("AccessKey", AccessKey);
			CommandJSON.put("ProgramID", ProgramID);
			CommandJSON.put("ReturnDelimiter", "\n"); //android uses \n and does not recognize \r
			if(!SendCommand())
			{ //ErrorMessage is already set
				IsConnected = false;
				Disconnect();
				return false;
			}
			
			//check for errors
			if( OutputJSON.optString("Error", "") != "")
			{
				ErrorMessage = "Login Error: " + OutputJSON.optString("Error", "");
				IsConnected = false;
				Disconnect();
				return false;
			}			
		}
		catch (Exception e)
	    {
			ErrorMessage = "Login Error: " + e.toString();
			IsConnected = false;
			Disconnect();
			return false;
		}
		
		//read the result
		String Result = OutputJSON.optString("UserSeq", "");
		if(Result == "")
			ErrorMessage = "Error getting sequence";
		application.UserSeq = Result;
		return true;
	}
	
	private void Disconnect()
	{
		if(!IsConnected)
			return;
		try
		{ 
			bytewriter.close();
			reader.close();
			socket.close(); 
		}catch(Exception e){}
		socket = null;
		bytewriter = null;
		reader = null;
		IsConnected = false;
	}
	
	private boolean send_command(String CommandData)
	{
		try
		{
			//this must be null terminated when talking to a server that uses C strings.  Java strings are not C strings
			String writestring = "[|]" + CommandData + "\0"; 
			
			byte [] towrite = writestring.getBytes();
			bytewriter.write(towrite, 0, writestring.length());
			bytewriter.writeTo(outputstream);
			bytewriter.reset();
		}
		catch(Exception e)
		{
			ErrorMessage = e.toString();
			return false;
		}
		return true;
	}
	
	private String read_result()
	{
		String data = "";
		try
		{
			//read the data that comes back (in chunks)
			char [] buff = new char[ReadChunkSize+1];	  					 										
			do
			{  	
				//clear the buffer because the read does not null terminate
				Arrays.fill(buff, '\0');
			  
				//read the chunk
				int readamt = reader.read(buff, 0, ReadChunkSize); 					  
				if(readamt == -1) //no data
					break;  		
			  
				//convert the buffer to a string and append to the data string
				String readdata = new String(buff);
				readdata = new String(readdata.substring(0, readamt)); //this is because Java does not null terminate
				data += readdata;
			
				//stop if it didn't fill the buffer (end of data)
				if(readamt < ReadChunkSize)
					break;
			}while(true);
		
			//make sure the client and server are in sync by looking for a terminator code
			int pos = data.lastIndexOf("[|]");
			if(pos != -1)
				data = new String(data.substring(pos + 3));
		}
		catch(Exception e)
		{
			ErrorMessage = e.toString();
			return "";
		}
		
		//make sure it got data
		if(data.length() == 0)
			ErrorMessage = "No Data";
		return data;
	}
	
	//needs CommandJSON set up
	//if successful, OutputJSON has the data that came back from the server
	private boolean SendCommand()
	{
		//see if it is not connected
		if(!IsConnected)
		{
			ErrorMessage = "Not Connected";
			return false;
		}	
	
		//send the command
		String str = CommandJSON.toString();
		//fix any \n and \r errors from toString
		str = str.replace("\\n", "\n");
		str = str.replace("\\r", "\r");
		
		if( !send_command(str) )
			return false; //ErrorMessage is set
					
		//get the result			
		String ResultString = read_result();
		if(ResultString == "")
			return false; //ErrorMessage is set
			
		//convert it to a JSON	
		try
		{ OutputJSON = new JSONObject(ResultString); }
		catch(Exception e)
		{	
			ErrorMessage = e.toString();
			return false;
		}

ErrorMessage = "";
		return true;
	}

//use this if logging in and the UserSeq is needed for the next command (the command must follow so it will disconnect)
	public boolean Login(MSOServiceTechApp application)
	{	
		ErrorMessage = "";
		
		//don't do this again if it is not logged in
		if(IsConnected)
			return true;	
        		    
		if(!DoConnect(application.ServerIP, application.ServerPort))
			ErrorMessage = "Could not get a server connection\n" + ErrorMessage;
		else
		{
			if( !DoLogin(application, application.UserID, application.Password, "", "MSO Service Tech") )
				ErrorMessage = "Invalid Login\n" + ErrorMessage;
		}
			
		return (ErrorMessage == "");
	}
	
	...
Proprietary code
	...
}

...our partner in Web Integration

We're looking for businesses who don't want to spend $50k to $100k for a customized business solution.

We offer a complete accounting system, or we can blend in with your existing system.

Unique server software reduces cost and energy requirements.

Some of our customers have been with us for over 25 years.

About My Simple Office

Simple Office Solutions, a recognized developer of innovative accounting software designed to meet the needs of small to medium sized businesses, My Simple Office is an accounting milestone that offers these companies a distinct advantage over competing systems.

Thousands of small to medium-sized businesses can embrace this low cost-high performance muscle that My Simple Office delivers. Power that derives from a powerful it's multi-user capability. This means there are no artificial limits on the number of users or 'seats'.

My Simple Office has been beefed up with a number of new features. These include integrated image and document management, and the ability to connect directly to the Android mobile system for remote access. It's pretty much everything a small to medium sized business could want at an amazingly affordable price.

Home | What is My Simple Office? | Pricing | Technical | About Us | Contact
Site by illuminary arts

My Simple Office - Think Outside the Box! Business Software and Custom Solutions - The most cost effective multi-user solutions around.

Welcome to My Simple Office !

Customizable Screens

What's a Client Server

My Simple Office Pricing

Android

My Simple Office

Contact Lowell Dunn

About My Simple Office