#########################################################
# Server side: open a socket on a port, listen for
# a message from a client, and send an echo reply; 
# forks a process to handle each client connection;
# child processes share parent's socket descriptors;
# fork is less portable than threads--not yet on Windows;
#########################################################

import os, time, sys
from socket import *                      # get socket constructor and constants
myHost = ''                               # server machine, '' means local host
myPort = 50007                            # listen on a non-reserved port number

sockobj = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM)           # make a TCP socket object
sockobj.bind((myHost, myPort))                   # bind it to server port number
sockobj.listen(5)                                # allow 5 pending connects

def now():                                       # current time on server
    return time.ctime(time.time())

activeChildren = []
def reapChildren():                              # reap any dead child processes
    while activeChildren:                        # else may fill up system table
        pid,stat = os.waitpid(0, os.WNOHANG)     # don't hang if no child exited
        if not pid: break
        activeChildren.remove(pid)

def handleClient(connection):                    # child process: reply, exit
    time.sleep(5)                                # simulate a blocking activity
    while 1:                                     # read, write a client socket
        data = connection.recv(1024)             # till eof when socket closed
        if not data: break
        connection.send('Echo=>%s at %s' % (data, now()))
    connection.close() 
    os._exit(0)

def dispatcher():                                # listen until process killed
    while 1:                                     # wait for next connection,
        connection, address = sockobj.accept()   # pass to process for service
        print 'Server connected by', address,
        print 'at', now()
        reapChildren()                           # clean up exited children now
        childPid = os.fork()                     # copy this process
        if childPid == 0:                        # if in child process: handle
            handleClient(connection)
        else:                                    # else: go accept next connect
            activeChildren.append(childPid)      # add to active child pid list

dispatcher()