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CEHAS — Campus Exam Hall Allocation System

A multi-process, multithreaded C++ system that allocates students to exam halls using parallel processing, inter-process communication, and a live TCP query server.

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  CEHAS — Main Process                │
│              fork() → 4 child processes              │
└──────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬─────────────┘
           │              │              │
           ▼              ▼              ▼
    Process 1        Process 2      Process 3
    Allocator        Tracker        Reporter
    (pthreads +      (reads pipe    (reads shared
     mutex)           from P1)       memory →
                                     report.txt)
           │
           ▼
    Process 4
    TCP Server
    (port 8080,
     backlog 1024,
     per-client threads)

Concepts Demonstrated

OS / Systems Programming:
├── fork()              → spawn 4 independent child processes
├── pipes               → Allocator → Tracker communication
├── pthreads            → 4 threads for parallel allocation
├── mutex               → race-condition-free shared state
├── shared memory       → Allocator writes, Reporter reads
├── waitpid()           → parent synchronizes all children
└── IPC                 → pipes + shared memory combined

Networking:
└── TCP socket server   → concurrent client queries
    listen(backlog 1024)→ handle multiple connections
    per-client threads  → detached pthread per connection

Features

  • Parallel allocation — 4 pthreads allocate students concurrently with mutex-protected seat assignment
  • Multi-process pipeline — 4 processes running simultaneously via fork()
  • IPC via pipes — allocator signals tracker on completion
  • Shared memory — allocation results shared between processes without copying
  • TCP query server — clients query student allocation in real time
  • Report generation — full allocation table written to output/report.txt

Project Structure

CEHAS/
├── data/
│   ├── students.csv       ← student ID, name, branch, semester
│   └── rooms.csv          ← room ID, block, capacity
├── include/
│   ├── common.h           ← shared structs, shared memory layout
│   ├── allocator.h
│   ├── tracker.h
│   ├── reporter.h
│   └── server.h
├── src/
│   ├── main.cpp           ← fork() all 4 processes
│   ├── allocator.cpp      ← pthreads + mutex + shared memory write
│   ├── tracker.cpp        ← pipe read + status updates
│   ├── reporter.cpp       ← shared memory read + report.txt
│   └── server.cpp         ← TCP socket server + per-client threads
├── output/
│   └── report.txt         ← generated after allocation
└── Makefile

Setup and Run

Prerequisites

g++ with C++17 support
POSIX-compliant OS (Linux / macOS)

Build

make

Run

./cehas

Query the TCP Server (second terminal)

# Query a specific student
echo "QUERY 202401001" | nc localhost 8080

# Check allocation status
echo "STATUS" | nc localhost 8080

Sample Output

[LOADER] Loaded 20 students.
[LOADER] Loaded 4 rooms.
[ALLOCATOR] Hari Sharma → Room R001 Seat 1
[ALLOCATOR] Arjun Patel → Room R001 Seat 2
[TRACKER] Waiting for updates...
[ALLOCATOR] Done. Allocated 20 students.
[TRACKER] Received: ALLOCATION_COMPLETE
[REPORTER] Generating report...
[SERVER] Listening on port 8080.

TCP Query Response

$ echo "QUERY 202401001" | nc localhost 8080
Student : Hari Sharma
Room    : R001 (Block A)
Seat    : 1

$ echo "STATUS" | nc localhost 8080
Status    : COMPLETE
Allocated : 20 / 20

Data Format

students.csv

student_id,name,branch,semester
202401001,Hari Sharma,ICT,4

rooms.csv

room_id,block,capacity
R001,A,40

IPC Mechanisms Used

Mechanism Used Between Purpose
pipe() Allocator → Tracker Signal on completion
Shared Memory (shmget) Allocator → Reporter Pass allocation results
TCP Socket Server → Clients Live allocation queries
pthread_mutex_t Between threads in Allocator Protect shared seat table

Built as part of systems programming exploration — OS + IPC + networking in C++.