Distributed Calculator using Java Sockets

Client-Server Implementation

November 16, 2025

1 Introduction
This document provides the complete source code for a distributed calculator application using
Java Sockets. The server is multi-threaded to handle multiple clients concurrently, and the client
communicates a simple protocol: OPERATOR NUM1 NUM2 (e.g., + 10 5).

2 Calculator Server ([Link])

The main server class listens for incoming client connections and delegates each connection to
a new ClientHandler thread.
1 import [Link]. ServerSocket ;
2 import [Link]. Socket ;
3 import [Link]. IOException ;
4
5 public class CalculatorServer {
6 private static final int PORT = 12345;
7
8 public static void main( String [] args) {
9 try ( ServerSocket serverSocket = new ServerSocket (PORT)) {
10 System .out. println ("� Calculator Server running on port " + PORT + ". Waiting
for connections ...");
11
12 // Server runs forever , accepting clients
13 while (true) {
14 Socket clientSocket = serverSocket . accept ();
15 System .out. println ("\�n Client connected from: " + clientSocket .
getInetAddress (). getHostAddress ());
16
17 // Start a new thread to handle the client 's request
18 new ClientHandler ( clientSocket ). start ();
19 }
20 } catch ( IOException e) {
21 System .err. println (" Server exception : " + e. getMessage ());
22 }
23 }
24 }

Listing 1: [Link]

3 Client Handler Thread ([Link])

This class handles the core logic of reading the expression, performing the calculation, and
writing the result back to the client.

1
1 import [Link]. Socket ;
2 import [Link]. BufferedReader ;
3 import [Link]. InputStreamReader ;
4 import [Link]. PrintWriter ;
5 import [Link]. IOException ;
6
7 public class ClientHandler extends Thread {
8 private final Socket clientSocket ;
9
10 public ClientHandler ( Socket socket ) {
11 this. clientSocket = socket ;
12 }
13
14 @Override
15 public void run () {
16 try ( BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader (new InputStreamReader (
clientSocket . getInputStream ()));
17 PrintWriter writer = new PrintWriter ( clientSocket . getOutputStream (), true))
{
18
19 String inputLine ;
20 // Read lines until the client disconnects or sends an empty line
21 while (( inputLine = reader . readLine ()) != null) {
22 System .out. println (" -> Received request : " + inputLine );
23 String result = calculate ( inputLine );
24 writer . println ( result );
25 System .out. println (" -> Sent result : " + result );
26 }
27
28 } catch ( IOException e) {
29 System .out. println (" Client disconnected or I/O error : " + e. getMessage ());
30 } finally {
31 try {
32 clientSocket . close ();
33 } catch ( IOException e) {
34 System .err. println (" Error closing socket : " + e. getMessage ());
35 }
36 }
37 }
38
39 /**
40 * Parses the input string " OPERATOR NUM1 NUM2" and performs the calculation .
41 */
42 private String calculate ( String expression ) {
43 String [] parts = expression . split (" ");
44 if ( parts . length != 3) {
45 return " ERROR : Invalid format . Use: OPERATOR NUM1 NUM2";
46 }
47
48 String operator = parts [0];
49 try {
50 double num1 = Double . parseDouble ( parts [1]);
51 double num2 = Double . parseDouble ( parts [2]);
52 double result = 0;
53
54 switch ( operator ) {
55 case "+":
56 result = num1 + num2;
57 break ;
58 case "-":
59 result = num1 - num2;
60 break ;
61 case "*":

2
62 result = num1 * num2;
63 break ;
64 case "/":
65 if (num2 == 0) {
66 return " ERROR : Division by zero is not allowed .";
67 }
68 result = num1 / num2;
69 break ;
70 default :
71 return " ERROR : Unsupported operator : " + operator ;
72 }
73 // Format result to a string
74 return String . valueOf ( result );
75
76 } catch ( NumberFormatException e) {
77 return " ERROR : Invalid numbers provided .";
78 }
79 }
80 }

Listing 2: [Link]

4 Calculator Client ([Link])

The client connects to the server and handles user input via the console, sending the expression
and displaying the returned result.
1 import [Link]. Socket ;
2 import [Link]. BufferedReader ;
3 import [Link]. InputStreamReader ;
4 import [Link]. PrintWriter ;
5 import [Link]. Scanner ;
6 import [Link]. IOException ;
7
8 public class CalculatorClient {
9 private static final String SERVER_ADDRESS = " localhost ";
10 private static final int SERVER_PORT = 12345;
11
12 public static void main( String [] args) {
13 System .out. println (" Connecting to Calculator Server at " + SERVER_ADDRESS + ":" +
SERVER_PORT );
14
15 try ( Socket socket = new Socket ( SERVER_ADDRESS , SERVER_PORT );
16 BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader (new InputStreamReader ( socket .
getInputStream ()));
17 PrintWriter writer = new PrintWriter ( socket . getOutputStream (), true);
18 Scanner scanner = new Scanner ( System .in)) {
19
20 System .out. println ("� Connection successful .");
21 System .out. println (" Enter expression (e.g., + 10 5). Type 'exit ' to quit.");
22
23 String userInput ;
24 while (true) {
25 System .out. print ("Client > ");
26 userInput = scanner . nextLine ();
27
28 if ("exit". equalsIgnoreCase ( userInput .trim ())) {
29 System .out. println (" Client shutting down ...");
30 break ;
31 }
32

3
33 // Send the expression to the server
34 writer . println ( userInput );
35
36 // Read and display the server 's response
37 String response = reader . readLine ();
38 if ( response != null) {
39 System .out. println (" Server Response : " + response );
40 } else {
41 // Server closed the connection
42 System .out. println (" Server disconnected .");
43 break ;
44 }
45 }
46
47 } catch ( IOException e) {
48 System .err. println (" Client error : Could not connect or I/O failure : " + e.
getMessage ());
49 }
50 }
51 }

Listing 3: [Link]

5 Instructions to Run the Application

1. Save Files: Save the code above into three separate files: [Link], [Link]
and [Link].

2. Compile: Open a terminal and compile all files: $$javac [Link] [Link]
[Link]

3. Start Server (Terminal 1): Run the server in the first terminal window. It will wait for
connections: $$java CalculatorServer

4. Start Client (Terminal 2): Open a second terminal and run the client: $$java CalculatorClient

5. Interact: In the client terminal, enter expressions like * 4 5 or / 22 7 and observe the
server processing the request.