Develop Reference

Sending large image through TCPClient c#

I have the following code to send a picture to a receiving application
public static void sendFile(string file, string ip)
{
using (TcpClient client = new TcpClient())
{
client.Connect(IPAddress.Parse(ip), 44451);
//Console.WriteLine(ip);
NetworkStream nwStream = client.GetStream();
MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream();
Image x = Image.FromFile(file);
x.Save(ms, x.RawFormat);
byte[] bytesToSend = ms.ToArray();
nwStream.Write(bytesToSend, 0, bytesToSend.Length);
nwStream.Flush();
client.Close();
}
}
and I'm receiving the file on the other end with this
NetworkStream nwStream = clientCopy.GetStream();
byte[] buffer = new byte[clientCopy.ReceiveBufferSize];
//---read incoming stream---
int bytesRead = nwStream.Read(buffer, 0, clientCopy.ReceiveBufferSize);
MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream(buffer);
Image returnImage = Image.FromStream(ms);
//ms.Flush();
//ms.Close();
String path;
if (!Directory.Exists(path = #"C:\Users\acer\AppData\Roaming\test"))
{
Directory.CreateDirectory(#"C:\Users\acer\AppData\Roaming\test");
}
string format;
if (ImageFormat.Jpeg.Equals(returnImage.RawFormat))
{
format = ".jpg";
}
else if (ImageFormat.Png.Equals(returnImage.RawFormat))
{
format = ".png";
}
else
{
format = ".jpg";
}
returnImage.Save(#"C:\Users\acer\AppData\Roaming\test\default_pic" + format, returnImage.RawFormat);
If i'm sending a picture that is small (around <20kb) the file is received 100% on the other end but if I send a file around >=100kb, the picture is received but only half of the image is loaded. I'm aware of the approach of reading the stream until all data is read but I don't know how to implement it right.
Thank you

You're only calling Read once, which certainly isn't guaranteed to read all the bytes. You could either loop, calling Read and copying the relevant number of bytes on each iteration, or you could use Stream.CopyTo:
var imageStream = new MemoryStream();
nwStream.CopyTo(imageStream);
// Rewind so that anything reading the data will read from the start
imageStream.Position = 0;
... or you could just read the image straight from the network stream:
// No need for another stream...
Image returnImage = Image.FromStream(nwStream);
(It's possible that would fail due to the stream being non-seekable... in which case using CopyTo as above would be the simplest option.)

The TCP protocol (like any other stream protocol) can't be used to transfer data as is. Most of the time it is impossible to know whether all data is arrived or whether it is received unrelated chunk of data together with the expected one. Therefore it is almost always needed to define underlying protocol, for example by sending a message header (like in HTTP) or defining a message separator (like line break in Telnet; however, using separators for big size messages are impractical). In most simple case it is enough to define very simple header that contains only the length of the message
Thus, in your case you can send 4 byte image length and then the image. On the server side you will read the 4 bytes size and then in the loop call the Read until complete message is recieved.
Please note that you can receive more bytes than expected. It means that the last chunk contains the beginning of the next message.

TCP transfer not finishing: "An existing connection was forcibly closed by the remote host"?

I have a client application that uses a TcpClient to send a file to a server application that uses a TcpListener to receive it. Sometimes, the file transfers fine. But at other times, the transfer starts but does not finish. After I have read in a varying number of bytes on the server, I get an IOException with the message: "An existing connection was forcibly closed by the remote host."
On the client side, I create a header byte array containing data about my file, including the total size in bytes and a few other bits of data. I combine this byte array with that of the file, and send it to the server.
TcpClient fileClient = new TcpClient();
fileClient.Connect("mydomain.com", 7728);
NetworkStream clientStream = fileClient.GetStream();
ASCIIEncoding encoder = new ASCIIEncoding();
FileStream fs = File.Open(filePath, FileMode.Open);
string header = filePath + "|" + fs.Length.ToString() + "|" + this.ID); //ID = short string of mine
header = header.PadRight(512, '*');
byte[] sizeArray = encoder.GetBytes(header);
byte[] fileBuffer = new byte[fs.Length];
fs.Read(fileBuffer, 0, Convert.ToInt32(fs.Length));
fs.Close();
byte[] buffer = Combine(sizeArray, fileBuffer); //Combine = method I use to combine byte arrays
clientStream.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
clientStream.Flush();
On the server side, I create a TcpListener, and start listening. When I get a connection, I handle it, read my header array, the first 512 bytes, determine the size of the new file, and then use this code to read the file / rest of the bytes:
int newSize = ... //The size that I sent in my header array
byte[] fileArray = new byte[newSize];
int off = 0;
while (true)
{
try
{
off += clientStream.Read(fileArray, off, fileArray.Length - off);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
off = newSize; // Enables partial receive on error, not total loss
}
if (off >= newSize)
{
break;
}
}
This is where it sometimes - about 25% of the time - goes wrong. I will get the exception at the off += clientStream.Read(fileArray, off, fileArray.Length - off) line. I surrounded it with a try catch, which enables the application to still get part of the file even when this error occurs. However, I need to be able to get the full file all the time. What am I doing wrong with this code?
The files I am transferring are JPEG images around 100KB in size, and generally take no more than two seconds to transfer on even the slowest of connections. Changing the timeout values for the clients and the listener does nothing to help.

Invalid paramether in Image.FromStream(MemoryStream)

im trying to send an image via network stream, i have a sendData and Getdata functions
and i always get an invalid parameter when using the Image.FromStream function
this is my code :
I am Getting the pic from the screen, then converting it to a byte[]
Inserting it to a Memory stream that i send via a networkStream.
private void SendData()
{
StreamWriter swWriter = new StreamWriter(this._nsClient);
// BinaryFormatter bfFormater = new BinaryFormatter();
// this method
lock (this._secLocker)
{
while (this._bShareScreen)
{
// Check if you need to send the screen
if (this._bShareScreen)
{
MemoryStream msStream = new MemoryStream();
this._imgScreenSend = new Bitmap(this._imgScreenSend.Width, this._imgScreenSend.Height);
// Send an image code
swWriter.WriteLine(General.IMAGE);
swWriter.Flush();
// Copy image from screen
this._grGraphics.CopyFromScreen(0, 0, 0, 0, this._sizScreenSize);
this._imgScreenSend.Save(msStream, System.Drawing.Imaging.ImageFormat.Jpeg);
msStream.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.Begin);
// Create the pakage
byte[] btPackage = msStream.ToArray();
// Send its langth
swWriter.WriteLine(btPackage.Length.ToString());
swWriter.Flush();
// Send the package
_nsClient.Write(btPackage, 0, btPackage.Length);
_nsClient.Flush();
}
}
}
}
private void ReciveData()
{
StreamReader srReader = new StreamReader(this._nsClient);
string strMsgCode = String.Empty;
bool bContinue = true;
//BinaryFormatter bfFormater = new BinaryFormatter();
DataContractSerializer x = new DataContractSerializer(typeof(Image));
// Lock this method
lock (this._objLocker)
{
while (bContinue)
{
// Get the next msg
strMsgCode = srReader.ReadLine();
// Check code
switch (strMsgCode)
{
case (General.IMAGE):
{
// Read bytearray
int nSize = int.Parse(srReader.ReadLine().ToString());
byte[] btImageStream = new byte[nSize];
this._nsClient.Read(btImageStream, 0, nSize);
// Get the Stream
MemoryStream msImageStream = new MemoryStream(btImageStream, 0, btImageStream.Length);
// Set seek, so we read the image from the begining of the stream
msImageStream.Position = 0;
// Build the image from the stream
this._imgScreenImg = Image.FromStream(msImageStream); // Error Here

Part of the problem is that you're using WriteLine() which adds Environment.NewLine at the end of the write. When you just call Read() on the other end, you're not dealing with that newline properly.
What you want to do is just Write() to the stream and then read it back on the other end.
The conversion to a string is strange.
What you're doing, when transferring an image, is sending an array of bytes. All you need to do is send the length of the expected stream and then the image itself, and then read the length and the byte array on the other side.
The most basic and naive way of transferring a byte array over the wire is to first send an integer that represents the length of the array, and read that length on the receiving end.
Once you now know how much data to send/receive, you then send the array as a raw array of bytes on the wire and read the length that you previously determined on the other side.
Now that you have the raw bytes and a size, you can reconstruct the array from your buffer into a valid image object (or whatever other binary format you've just sent).
Also, I'm not sure why that DataContractSerializer is there. It's raw binary data, and you're already manually serializing it to bytes anyway, so that thing isn't useful.
One of the fundamental problems of network programming using sockets and streams is defining your protocol, because the receiving end can't otherwise know what to expect or when the stream will end. That's why every common protocol out there either has a very strictly defined packet size and layout or else does something like sending length/data pairs, so that the receiving end knows what to do.
If you implement a very simple protocol such as sending an integer which represents array length and reading an integer on the receiving end, you've accomplished half the goal. Then, both sender and receiver are in agreement as to what happens next. Then, the sender sends exactly that number of bytes on the wire and the receiver reads exactly that number of bytes on the wire and considers the read to be finished. What you now have is an exact copy of the original byte array on the receiving side and you can then do with it as you please, since you know what that data was in the first place.
If you need a code example, I can provide a simple one or else there are numerous examples available on the net.

Trying to keep it short:
the Stream.Read function (which you use) returns an int that states how many bytes were read, this is return to you so you could verify that all the bytes you need are received.
something like:
int byteCount=0;
while(byteCount < nSize)
{
int read = this._nsClient.Read(btImageStream, byteCount, nSize-byteCount);
byteCount += read;
}
this is not the best code for the job

Sending data over TCP

I have a client server situation, where the client sends the data (a movie for example) to the server, the server saves that data to the HDD.
It sends the data by a fixed array of bytes. After the bytes are sent, the server asks if there is more, if yes, send more and so on. Every thing is going well, all the data gets across.
But when I try to play the movie, it cant be played and if I look to the file length of each movie (client and server) the server movie is bigger then the client movie.also when I look at the command screen at the end of the sending/receiving data there is more then a 100% of the bytes that are across.
The only thing I can think of that can be wrong is the fact that my server reads in the stream till the fixed buffer array is full and therefor has at the end more bytes then the client. However if that is the problem how can I solve this?
I've just added the 2methods of sending, because the tcp connection works, any help is welcome.
Client
public void SendData(NetworkStream nws, StreamReader sr, StreamWriter sw)
{
using (FileStream reader = new FileStream(this.path, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
{
byte[] buffer = new byte[1024];
int currentBlockSize = 0;
while ((currentBlockSize = reader.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length)) > 0)
{
sw.WriteLine(true.ToString());
sw.Flush();
string wait = sr.ReadLine();
nws.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
nws.Flush();
label1.Text = sr.ReadLine();
}
sw.WriteLine(false.ToString());
sw.Flush();
}
}
Server
private void GetMovieData(NetworkStream nws, StreamReader sr, StreamWriter sw, Film filmInfo)
{
Console.WriteLine("Adding Movie: {0}", filmInfo.Titel);
double persentage = 0;
string thePath = this.Path + #"\films\" + filmInfo.Titel + #"\";
Directory.CreateDirectory(thePath);
thePath += filmInfo.Titel + filmInfo.Extentie;
try
{
byte[] buffer = new byte[1024]; //1Kb buffer
long fileLength = filmInfo.TotalBytes;
long totalBytes = 0;
using (FileStream writer = new FileStream(thePath, FileMode.CreateNew, FileAccess.Write))
{
int currentBlockSize = 0;
bool more;
sw.WriteLine("DATA");
sw.Flush();
more = Convert.ToBoolean(sr.ReadLine());
while (more)
{
sw.WriteLine("SEND");
sw.Flush();
currentBlockSize = nws.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
totalBytes += currentBlockSize;
writer.Write(buffer, 0, currentBlockSize);
persentage = (double)totalBytes * 100.0 / fileLength;
Console.WriteLine(persentage.ToString());
sw.WriteLine("MORE");
sw.Flush();
string test = sr.ReadLine();
more = Convert.ToBoolean(test);
}
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Console.WriteLine(ex.ToString());
}
}

There is a reason why Read() returns the number of bytes read: it's possible it will return less than the size of the buffer. Because of this, you should do something like nws.Write(buffer, 0, currentBlockSize); in SendData(). But this will break your protocol, because the blocks won't have the size anymore.
But I find it hard to believe your code actually behaves the way you describe. That's because Read() in GetMovieData() also may not fill the whole buffer. Also, StreamReader is allowed to keep some data in an internal buffer, which would mean you could read some completely bogus data.
I think code like this, where you're combining Streams and StreamReaders/StreamWriters is a really bad idea. It would be hard to make it actually correct. What you should do instead is to make your protocol completely byte-based (not character-based), even if those bytes are ASCII-encoded "SEND".

Let me give it a try, but don't shoot me if it doesn't work.
I see that you have a buffer size of 1024, regardless of how many bytes there are left in the file that you send. Say you have a file of 2900 bytes, which would require to send 3 times, the last you send there will only be 852 bytes left to send. Yet, you create a buffer of 1024 and send over 1024 bytes. This means that your server receives 852 bytes of real data, and 172 zero-filled bytes. Even though, all those 172 bytes are save to the movie file on the server.
I guess there's an easy fix: When you write the data to the server, use the currentBlockSize as argument for the length. So in method SendData on the client, inside the while loop, change:
nws.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
to this:
nws.Write(buffer, 0, currentBlockSize);

C# TCP file transfer - Images semi-transferred

I am developing a TCP file transfer client-server program. At the moment I am able to send text files and other file formats perfectly fine, such as .zip with all contents intact on the server end. However, when I transfer a .gif the end result is a gif with same size as the original but with only part of the image showing as if most of the bytes were lost or not written correctly on the server end.
The client sends a 1KB header packet with the name and size of the file to the server. The server then responds with OK if ready and then creates a fileBuffer as large as the file to be sent is.
Here is some code to demonstrate my problem:
// Serverside method snippet dealing with data being sent
while (true)
{
// Spin the data in
if (streams[0].DataAvailable)
{
streams[0].Read(fileBuffer, 0, fileBuffer.Length);
break;
}
}
// Finished receiving file, write from buffer to created file
FileStream fs = File.Open(LOCAL_FOLDER + fileName, FileMode.CreateNew, FileAccess.Write);
fs.Write(fileBuffer, 0, fileBuffer.Length);
fs.Close();
Print("File successfully received.");
// Clientside method snippet dealing with a file send
while(true)
{
con.Read(ackBuffer, 0, ackBuffer.Length);
// Wait for OK response to start sending
if (Encoding.ASCII.GetString(ackBuffer) == "OK")
{
// Convert file to bytes
FileStream fs = new FileStream(inPath, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);
fileBuffer = new byte[fs.Length];
fs.Read(fileBuffer, 0, (int)fs.Length);
fs.Close();
con.Write(fileBuffer, 0, fileBuffer.Length);
con.Flush();
break;
}
}
I've tried a binary writer instead of just using the filestream with the same result.
Am I incorrect in believing successful file transfer to be as simple as conversion to bytes, transportation and then conversion back to filename/type?
All help/advice much appreciated.

Its not about your image .. It's about your code.
if your image bytes were lost or not written correctly that's mean your file transfer code is wrong and even the .zip file or any other file would be received .. It's gonna be correpted.
It's a huge mistake to set the byte buffer length to the file size. imagine that you're going to send a large a file about 1GB .. then it's gonna take 1GB of RAM .. for an Idle transfering you should loop over the file to send.
This's a way to send/receive files nicely with no size limitation.
Send File
using (FileStream fs = new FileStream(srcPath, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
{
long fileSize = fs.Length;
long sum = 0; //sum here is the total of sent bytes.
int count = 0;
data = new byte[1024]; //8Kb buffer .. you might use a smaller size also.
while (sum < fileSize)
{
count = fs.Read(data, 0, data.Length);
network.Write(data, 0, count);
sum += count;
}
network.Flush();
}
Receive File
long fileSize = // your file size that you are going to receive it.
using (FileStream fs = new FileStream(destPath, FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write))
{
int count = 0;
long sum = 0; //sum here is the total of received bytes.
data = new byte[1024 * 8]; //8Kb buffer .. you might use a smaller size also.
while (sum < fileSize)
{
if (network.DataAvailable)
{
{
count = network.Read(data, 0, data.Length);
fs.Write(data, 0, count);
sum += count;
}
}
}
}
happy coding :)

When you write over TCP, the data can arrive in a number of packets. I think your early tests happened to fit into one packet, but this gif file is arriving in 2 or more. So when you call Read, you'll only get what's arrived so far - you'll need to check repeatedly until you've got as many bytes as the header told you to expect.
I found Beej's guide to network programming a big help when doing some work with TCP.

As others have pointed out, the data doesn't necessarily all arrive at once, and your code is overwriting the beginning of the buffer each time through the loop. The more robust way to write your reading loop is to read as many bytes as are available and increment a counter to keep track of how many bytes have been read so far so that you know where to put them in the buffer. Something like this works well:
int totalBytesRead = 0;
int bytesRead;
do
{
bytesRead = streams[0].Read(fileBuffer, totalBytesRead, fileBuffer.Length - totalBytesRead);
totalBytesRead += bytesRead;
} while (bytesRead != 0);
Stream.Read will return 0 when there's no data left to read.
Doing things this way will perform better than reading a byte at a time. It also gives you a way to ensure that you read the proper number of bytes. If totalBytesRead is not equal to the number of bytes you expected when the loop is finished, then something bad happened.

Thanks for your input Tvanfosson. I tinkered around with my code and managed to get it working. The synchronicity between my client and server was off. I took your advice though and replaced read with reading a byte one at a time.