Auction Socket – IPL Auction Management System

Auction Socket is a client–server based auction management system built using Python socket programming and MySQL.
It simulates a simplified IPL-style player auction, where multiple clients can connect to a central server and interact with auction-related functionalities.

The system demonstrates network programming, concurrency, and database integration in a real-time environment.

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Overview

The project follows a TCP client–server architecture:

• The server manages auction logic and communicates with a MySQL database
• The client connects to the server and interacts via menu-driven options
• Multiple clients can connect simultaneously using threading

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Features

• TCP socket-based communication
• Multi-client handling using Python threads
• Menu-driven auction interaction
• MySQL database integration for persistent data
• Fetches and displays remaining (unsold) players
• Graceful client exit handling

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Architecture

Client (Python Socket)
        ⇅ TCP Connection
Server (Python Socket + Threads)
        ⇅
MySQL Database (Players Data)

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Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Language	Python
Networking	Socket Programming (TCP)
Concurrency	threading
Database	MySQL
Database Driver	mysql-connector-python

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Functional Flow

1. Client connects to the server on a specified port
2. Server sends a welcome message and menu options
3. Client selects an option from the menu
4. Server processes the request and responds accordingly
5. Database queries are executed when required
6. Client receives and displays the response

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Menu Options

1. Buy Player
2. Check the remaining players
3. Check the team players
4. Exit

Note: Some options (such as buying players and viewing team players) are placeholders for future enhancements.

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Database Schema (Expected)

The project assumes a MySQL database named players with a table structured similar to:

CREATE TABLE players (
    player_name VARCHAR(100),
    nationality VARCHAR(50),
    role VARCHAR(50),
    price INT
);

• Players with price = NULL are considered unsold
• These players are returned when checking remaining players

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Setup and Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• MySQL Server
• mysql-connector-python package

Install the required Python package:

pip install mysql-connector-python

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Database Configuration

Update the database credentials in the server code:

connection = mysql.connector.connect(
    host='localhost',
    user='your_username',
    password='your_password',
    database='players'
)

Ensure the database is running before starting the server.

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Running the Application

Start the Server

python server.py

The server will listen on:

localhost:8888

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Start the Client

In a separate terminal:

python client.py

You can start multiple clients in different terminals to test concurrency.

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Sample Output

Welcome to the IPL AUCTION.

Choose one of the below options:
1. Buy Player.
2. Check the remaining players.
3. Check the team players.
4. Exit!

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Error Handling

• Handles invalid menu input
• Gracefully closes client connections
• Catches database connection and query errors

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Limitations

• Buying players and team management logic are not fully implemented
• Authentication is not included
• No encryption (plain TCP sockets)

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Future Improvements

• Implement player bidding and team assignment
• Add authentication and authorization
• Improve concurrency control
• Introduce logging and monitoring
• Secure communication using SSL/TLS
• Refactor into modular services

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Learning Outcomes

This project demonstrates:

• Socket-based network programming
• Client–server architecture
• Multi-threaded server design
• Database-backed application logic
• Real-time interaction between distributed components

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License

This project is provided for educational purposes.