Teflon

Teflon is a peer-to-peer desktop chat application built using Java Swing. The project serves two main purposes:

1. Providing a functional, decentralized chat platform
2. Serving as a test bed for evaluating different AI-assisted development approaches

Project Overview

This project is being actively developed using various AI coding assistants to evaluate their effectiveness in real-world software development. The development process helps assess:

• Code quality and consistency
• Testing coverage and reliability
• Documentation clarity
• Bug detection and resolution
• Refactoring capabilities

Technical Architecture

Core Components

1. User Interface (UI)

   • Built with Java Swing for a native desktop experience
   • Features a modern, HTML-rendered chat display
   • Supports system events, message acknowledgments, and status updates
   • Includes connection management and configuration dialogs

2. Networking

   • Uses UDP multicast for peer-to-peer communication
   • Supports both IPv4 and IPv6 multicast groups
   • Implements reliable message delivery with acknowledgments
   • Provides network interface selection for flexible deployment

3. Message Handling

   • Unique message IDs for tracking and acknowledgment
   • Support for different message types (chat, ACK, NACK, system events)
   • Message validation and checksum verification
   • HTML-safe message rendering with color coding

Key Features

• Decentralized Communication: No central server required
• Network Discovery: Automatic peer discovery via multicast
• Message Reliability: Acknowledgment system for message delivery confirmation
• Command System: Built-in commands for status and help
• Connection Management: Interface selection and connection status monitoring
• Visual Feedback: Color-coded status indicators and message formatting

Usage

Requirements

• Java 21 or higher
• Maven for building

Building

mvn clean package

Running

mvn exec:java

Available Commands

• /help - Display available commands
• /status - Show connection status and message statistics

Network Configuration

Multicast Groups

• IPv6: Uses Link-Local Scope Multicast Addresses (FF02::/16)
• IPv4: Supports Class D addresses (224.0.0.0 - 239.255.255.255)
• Custom multicast addresses can be configured

Network Interfaces

• Automatic detection of available network interfaces
• Support for both wired and wireless connections
• Interface selection through configuration dialog

Development

Testing

The project includes some test coverage:

mvn test

References

Networking

• IPv6 Multicast Addresses
• Link-local Addresses
• RFC 3171 - IPv4 Multicast Guidelines

UI Framework

• Java Swing Documentation

Version History

1.3.2

• Add config to generate signed jars

1.3.1

• Optimize out busy-wait in the net selector
• Add additional multicast delivery options
• Improve test strategy
• Fix some threading issues and reconnection

1.3.0

• Enhanced status command with HTML formatting
• Improved message display and formatting
• Refactored common code for better maintainability
• Enhanced test coverage and reliability
• Basic chat functionality
• Network interface selection
• Message acknowledgment system