DroidIRC is an Android-based IRC server and corresponding client application.
Functionality included: Basic sending and receiving messages Support for channels using swipeable tabs Support for requesting a list of connected users Action Icons Text coloring
Min SDK: API 21
Overall Structure The application architecture was split into two primary layers. The domain and presentation layers. The presentation layer was further divided in a model, view, and presenter as per the MVP design. Thus the presentation layer consisted of all code related to the UI. The domain layer, on the other hand, was essentially the backend of the application and consisted of all server and client classes as well as classes to interact with the server and client.
Design structure This architecture was selected in order to easily accommodate changes in requirements. That is, since both developers had little prior experience with socket programming the requirements of the application were difficult to define prior to implementation and thus could change rapidly. Additionally, this architecture provided a simple manner in which to divide responsibilities of the application. One developer could focus on the UI, or presentation layer, while the other focused on the backend, or domain layer.
Presentation Layer (UI) Overall Structure The presentation layer was divide into three primary sections. The model, view, and presenter. The views job was to display graphics without any logic. Presenter jobs was take the input from the view and decide what to do with it. Because of the limited the scope of the application, the model was excluded from the design.
The model was represented by the ClientModel and ServerModel classes. These classes were used to store the
list of channels and their respective message logs.
The view was represented by the activites and fragments and dialogs. They classes were used only for displaying
information or receiving input.
The presenter was represented by the ServerPresenter and ClientPreseenter classes. These classes handled the logic
of deciding what to do for a given user input, what should be shown on the views, and also updating the ServerModel
and ClientModel respectively
Domain Layer (Backend) Server Spawns a thread to start the server Spawns a thread for each client Presenter called when thread receives a message to update the local ServerModel Observer design pattern is used to update the UI along with handlers to ensure update is on UI thread. Channels Client thread is associated with a group where each group represents a channel. Messages sent on a channel are broadcast to all members of a group.
Client Spawn a thread for the server connection Presenter called when thread receives a message to update the local ClientModel Observer design pattern is used to update the UI along with handlers to ensure update is on UI thread.
Interactors The interactor classes are the interface between the domain layer and the presentation layer. All interaction is made through these classes.