Develop Reference

Why does my encoding add \0 efter decoding?

So I am sending a simple string from my TCP Client to my server and then when I receive it it decodes the bytes and prints out what it got.. However I am sending
Client connecting..
and I receive
Client connecting..\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0
Why is that?
The buffer seems to be the same, 18 bytes with the empty ones being 0
is this due to the Encoding method? I've tried different ones likes Default and UTF8 but it seems to do the same still.
_listener.Start();
Console.WriteLine("Waiting for connection..");
//Assign our client the value of the first accepted request.
_client = _listener.AcceptTcpClient();
Console.WriteLine("Client connected.");
//Set the stream to listen for incoming requests.
_stream = _client.GetStream();
//Build the package
byte[] buffer = new byte[128];
var bufferLength = _stream.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
return buffer;
And it passes the byte array to this
public void SendPacket(byte[] buffer)
{
TcpClient client = new TcpClient(hostName, portNum);
NetworkStream ns = client.GetStream();
Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Cyan;
Console.WriteLine($"Received from remote client: {Encoding.UTF8.GetString(buffer, 0, buffer.Length)}");
Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Green;
Console.WriteLine($"Relaying to the remote server: {Encoding.UTF8.GetString(buffer, 0, buffer.Length)}");
ns.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
}
And then
Console.WriteLine("Data Received..");
var data = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(buffer, 0, length);
Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Yellow;
Console.WriteLine("Received: " + data);

According to your code
var bufferLength = _stream.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
return buffer;
bufferLength is dropped on the floor.
var data = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(buffer, 0, length);
I don't know where length came from, but I suppose it's the buffer's length. Since the receive didn't fill up the whole buffer but only part of it, you must use bufferLength to know how many bytes to work with.
Same problem here:
var eh = ns.Read(newBuffer, 0, newBuffer.Length);
var received = Encoding.ASCII.GetString(newBuffer, 0, newBuffer.Length);
Use eh!
var eh = ns.Read(newBuffer, 0, newBuffer.Length);
var received = Encoding.ASCII.GetString(newBuffer, 0, eh);

\0 is the "empty" value for a char object, so most likely it is reading the chars.

How to properly send and receive complete data using sockets [duplicate]

I am working on socket C#. I've implemented a client server application using socket, but the problem is that the client doesn't receive all data sent by the server.
Here is the client application code. What should I do so that it would receive all data sent by the server?
strRecieved = "";
Socket soc = new Socket(AddressFamily.InterNetwork, SocketType.Stream, ProtocolType.Tcp);
IPEndPoint endPoint = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse("127.0.0.1"), 9001);
soc.Connect(endPoint);
byte[] msgBuffer = Encoding.Default.GetBytes(path);
soc.Send(msgBuffer, 0, msgBuffer.Length, 0);
byte[] buffer = new byte[2000];
int rec = soc.Receive(buffer);
strRecieved = String.Format(Encoding.Default.GetString(buffer));

First of all. If you're implementing some kind of streaming feature ( tcp/udp/file ) you should consider using some kind of protocol.
What is a protocol? It's just a scheme to use when streaming data. Example:
[4Bytes - length][lengthBytes - message][1Byte - termination indicator]
Knowing the protocol you can read all of the incoming bytes simply as such :
byte[] buffer = new byte[4];
stream.ReadBytes(buffer, 0, 4); // cast that to int and read the rest
int packetLen = BitConverter.ToInt32(buffer, 0);
buffer = new byte[packetLen];
stream.ReadBytes(buffer, 0, buffer.Length); // all bytes that was sent
Remember that you have to subtract thease 4 bytes in the length before sending the message.
EDIT:
Simple example on how to send and receive data using shared protocol.
// sender.cs
string _stringToSend = "some fancy string";
byte[] encodedString = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(_stringToSend);
List<byte> buffer = new List<byte>();
buffer.AddRange(BitConverter.GetBytes(encodedString.Length));
buffer.AddRange(encodedString);
netStream.WriteBytes(buffer.ToArray(), 0, buffer.Count);
// netStream sent message in protocol [#LEN - 4Bytes][#MSG - #LENBytes]
// simply speaking something like: 5ABCDE
// receiver.cs
byte[] buffer = new byte[sizeof(int)];
netStream.ReadBytes(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
// receiver got the length of the message eg. 5
int dataLen = BitConverter.ToInt32(buffer, 0);
buffer = new byte[dataLen];
// now we can read an actual message because we know it's length
netStream.ReadBytes(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
string receivedString = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(buffer);
// received string is equal to "some fancy string"
Making it simpler
This technique forces you to use desired protocol which in this example will be :
First 4 bytes sizeof(int) are indicating the length of the incoming packet
Every byte further is your packet until the end.
So right now you should make ProtocolHelper object:
public static class ProtocolHelper
{
public byte[] PackIntoProtocol(string message)
{
List<byte> result = new List<byte>();
byte[] messageBuffer = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(message);
result.AddRange(BitConverter.GetBytes(messageBuffer.Length), 0); // this is the first part of the protocol ( length of the message )
result.AddRange(messageBuffer); // this is actual message
return result.ToArray();
}
public string UnpackProtocol(byte[] buffer)
{
return Encoding.UTF8.GetString(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
}
}
Now ( depending on method you've chosen to read from network ) you have to send and receive your message.
// sender.cs
string meMessage = "network message 1";
byte[] buffer = ProtocolHelper.PackIntoProtocol(meMessage);
socket.Send(buffer, 0, buffer.Length, 0);
// receiver.cs
string message = string.Empty;
byte[] buffer = new byte[sizeof(int)]; // or simply new byte[4];
int received = socket.Receive(buffer);
if(received == sizeof(int))
{
int packetLen = BitConverter.ToInt32(buffer);// size of our message
buffer = new byte[packetLen];
received = socket.Receive(buffer);
if( packetLen == received ) // we have full buffer
{
message = PacketHelper.UnpackProtocol(buffer);
}
}
Console.WriteLine(message); // output: "network message 1"

You're limiting the size of received messages by 2KB as you're using new byte[2000].
I think you could either:
Size up you buffer to meet you message's size needs; and/or
Split you message into more than one socket messages.
Given that 4-8K is a good size for buffering socket messages and assuming RAM size is not a issue I would start with that, say, new byte[8000].
Also, you can send socket messages splitted in chunks. Maybe this is a good idea for the case. For example, if you have msg as the message (or object) you want to send:
private static async Task SendAnswer(Message msg, WebSocket socket)
{
var answer = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(JsonConvert.SerializeObject(msg).ToCharArray());
var bufferSize = 8000;
var endOfMessage = false;
for (var offset = 0; offset < answer.Length; offset += bufferSize)
{
if (offset + bufferSize >= answer.Length)
{
bufferSize = answer.Length - offset;
endOfMessage = true;
}
await socket.SendAsync(new ArraySegment<byte>(answer, offset, bufferSize),
WebSocketMessageType.Text, endOfMessage, CancellationToken.None);
}
}
And when receiving, you can also split the reception in chunks, so you can control you buffer (and therefore you memory consumption). After hanlding the whole message, you should wait for another message from the client to do more stuff. Source
private async Task ReceiveMessage(WebSocket webSocket)
{
var buffer = new byte[8000];
var result = await webSocket.ReceiveAsync(buffer, CancellationToken.None);
while (!result.CloseStatus.HasValue)
{
string msg = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(new ArraySegment<byte>(buffer, 0, result.Count).ToArray());
while (!result.EndOfMessage)
{
result = await webSocket.ReceiveAsync(buffer, CancellationToken.None);
msg += Encoding.UTF8.GetString(new ArraySegment<byte>(buffer, 0, result.Count).ToArray());
}
//At this point, `msg` has the whole message you sent, you can do whatever you want with it.
// [...]
//After you handle the message, wait for another message from the client
result = await webSocket.ReceiveAsync(buffer, CancellationToken.None);
}
await webSocket.CloseAsync(result.CloseStatus.Value, result.CloseStatusDescription, CancellationToken.None);
}

Send and Receive large amount of data through tcp stream using read/write (Error)

I am trying to receive data at my server of any length through tcp connection. First my client sends length of data to server through stream.write then it send the actual data.
At Client I receive the length and loop until whole the data is received successfully.
The problem is: "I receive 0 size on the server no matters what the length of data is". I tried to figure out the issue but could not get where the problem is. Any kind of help/hint would be appreciated.
Server Side Code:
byte[] lengthOfData = new byte[2048];
byte[] buffer;
try
{
stream = client.GetStream();
eventLog1.WriteEntry("Size of 1st = "+stream.Read(lengthOfData,0,lengthOfData.Length));
int numBytesToRead = ByteArraySerializer.BytesArrayToInt(lengthOfData);
eventLog1.WriteEntry("number of bytes to read= "+numBytesToRead);
buffer = new byte[numBytesToRead+10];
int numBytesRead = 0;
do
{
int n = stream.Read(buffer, numBytesRead, 10);
numBytesRead += n;
numBytesToRead -= n;
eventLog1.WriteEntry("number of bytes read= " + numBytesRead);
} while (numBytesToRead > 0);
}
catch (Exception e) // Called automatically when Client Diposes or disconnects unexpectedly
{
eventLog1.WriteEntry("Connection Closes: "+e.ToString());
lock (connectedClients)
{
connectedClients.Remove(client);
}
client.Close();
break;
}
Client Side Code
byte[] command = ByteArraySerializer.Serialize<Command>(cmd);
byte[] sizeOfData = ByteArraySerializer.IntToBytesArray(command.Length);
stream.Write(sizeOfData, 0, sizeOfData.Length);
Console.WriteLine("Size of Data = "+command.Length);
stream.Write(command, 0, command.Length);

Change the following line at server
byte[] lengthOfData = new byte[2048];
to
byte[] lengthOfData = new byte[sizeof(int)];
The issue was that the read at server was supposed to read only 4 bytes integer whereas it was reading other data as well which was getting written after writing the length of data. We are supposed to read only 4 bytes if we want to get the length of data(integer).

How to get all data from NetworkStream

I am trying to read all data present in the buffer of the Machine connected through TCP/IP but i don't know why i am not getting all data ,some data is getting Missed.
Here is the code that i am using ..
using (NetworkStream stream = client.GetStream())
{
byte[] data = new byte[1024];
int numBytesRead = stream.Read(data, 0, data.Length);
if (numBytesRead > 0)
{
string str= Encoding.ASCII.GetString(data, 0, numBytesRead);
}
}
Please tell me what i am missing to get all the data from the machine.
Thanks in advance..

The problem with your code is that you will not get all the data if the data size is bigger than the buffer size (1024 bytes in your case) so you have to Read the stream inside the loop. Then you can Write all the data inside a MemoryStream until the end of the NetworkStream.
string str;
using (NetworkStream stream = client.GetStream())
{
byte[] data = new byte[1024];
using (MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream())
{
int numBytesRead ;
while ((numBytesRead = stream.Read(data, 0, data.Length)) > 0)
{
ms.Write(data, 0, numBytesRead);
}
str = Encoding.ASCII.GetString(ms.ToArray(), 0, (int)ms.Length);
}
}

This example from MSDN: NetworkStream.DataAvailable shows how you can use that property to do so:
// Examples for CanRead, Read, and DataAvailable.
// Check to see if this NetworkStream is readable.
if(myNetworkStream.CanRead)
{
byte[] myReadBuffer = new byte[1024];
StringBuilder myCompleteMessage = new StringBuilder();
int numberOfBytesRead = 0;
// Incoming message may be larger than the buffer size.
do{
numberOfBytesRead = myNetworkStream.Read(myReadBuffer, 0, myReadBuffer.Length);
myCompleteMessage.AppendFormat("{0}", Encoding.ASCII.GetString(myReadBuffer, 0, numberOfBytesRead));
}
while(myNetworkStream.DataAvailable);
// Print out the received message to the console.
Console.WriteLine("You received the following message : " +
myCompleteMessage);
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine("Sorry. You cannot read from this NetworkStream.");
}

Try this:
private string GetResponse(NetworkStream stream)
{
byte[] data = new byte[1024];
using (MemoryStream memoryStream = new MemoryStream())
{
do
{
stream.Read(data, 0, data.Length);
memoryStream.Write(data, 0, data.Length);
} while (stream.DataAvailable);
return Encoding.ASCII.GetString(memoryStream.ToArray(), 0, (int)memoryStream.Length);
}
}

Try this code:
using (NetworkStream stream = client.GetStream())
{
while (!stream.DataAvailable)
{
Thread.Sleep(20);
}
if (stream.DataAvailable && stream.CanRead)
{
Byte[] data = new Byte[1024];
List<byte> allData = new List<byte>();
do
{
int numBytesRead = stream.Read(data,0,data.Length);
if (numBytesRead == data.Length)
{
allData.AddRange(data);
}
else if (numBytesRead > 0)
{
allData.AddRange(data.Take(numBytesRead));
}
} while (stream.DataAvailable);
}
}
Hope this helps, it should prevent that you miss any data sended to you.

The synchronous method sometimes does not display the request body. Using the asynchronous method stably displays request body.
string request = default(string);
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
byte[] buffer = new byte[client.ReceiveBufferSize];
int bytesCount;
if (client.GetStream().CanRead)
{
do
{
bytesCount = client.GetStream().ReadAsync(buffer, 0, buffer.Length).Result;
sb.Append(Encoding.UTF8.GetString(buffer, 0, bytesCount));
}
while(client.GetStream().DataAvailable);
request = sb.ToString();
}

TCP itself does not have any ways to define "end of data" condition. This is responsibility of application level portocol.
For instance see HTTP request description:
A client request (consisting in this case of the request line and only one header field) is followed by a blank line, so that the request ends with a double newline
So, for request end of data is determined by two newline sequences. And for response:
Content-Type specifies the Internet media type of the data conveyed by the HTTP message, while Content-Length indicates its length in bytes.
The response content size is specified in header before data.
So, it's up to you how to encode amount of data transferred at once - it can be just first 2 or 4 bytes in the beginning of the data holding total size to read or more complex ways if needed.

for my scenario, the message itself was telling the length of subsequent message. here is the code
int lengthOfMessage=1024;
string message = "";
using (MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream())
{
int numBytesRead;
while ((numBytesRead = memStream.Read(MessageBytes, 0, lengthOfMessage)) > 0)
{
lengthOfMessage = lengthOfMessage - numBytesRead;
ms.Write(MessageBytes, 0, numBytesRead);
}
message = Encoding.ASCII.GetString(ms.ToArray(), 0, (int)ms.Length);
}

#George Chondrompilas answer is correct but instead of writing it by yourself you can use CopyTo function which does the same :
https://stackoverflow.com/a/65188160/4120180

TCPClient. How do I receive big messages?

I have the following code:
private string Connect()
{
string responseData;
try
{
TcpClient client = new TcpClient(ServerIp, Port);
client.ReceiveBufferSize = Int32.MaxValue;
Byte[] data = Encoding.GetEncoding(1251).GetBytes(ReadyQuery);
NetworkStream stream = client.GetStream();
// send data
stream.Write(data, 0, data.Length);
// buffer
data = new Byte[65536];
Int32 bytes = stream.Read(data, 0, data.Length);
responseData = Encoding.GetEncoding(1251).GetString(data, 0, bytes);
// close all
stream.Close();
client.Close();
return responseData;
}
I have problem with a big message. The receive message size is 22K chars. I get only part of message.
How can I receive big messages?
PS. In the debugger bytes equal 4096.

You call stream.Read in a loop until you read the entire message. If you know the message size in advance it's relatively easy:
int messageSize = 22000;
int readSoFar = 0;
byte [] msg = new byte[messageSize];
while(readSoFar < messageSize)
{
var read = stream.Read(msg, readSoFar, msg.Length - readSoFar);
readSoFar += read;
if(read==0)
break; // connection was broken
}
If the message size is part of the message (say, encoded in the first 4 bytes), you should read those first and then do as I suggested.