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README.md

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+# Accordion
+
+A chat app built with C++ and raw networking. The client is built with C++ & QML; the server is headless C++ process intended to run in a docker container along with a PostgreSQL database.
+
+This project is an experiment and learning experience, not a discord clone. Eventually though, with enough maturity, this app can evolve to handle media sharing and real-time voice telemetry.
+
+### Design
+The Accordion user space app (don't call it accordionUSA) is built with C++ + QML. Design principles are modularity, configurability, and performance (reactNative real quiet rn). In the future,
+RtAudio shall be used for real-time audio management (wishful thinking 🥺). If not specified, "Accordion" shall refer to the client app, whereas the server must be explicitly mentioned.
+
+Networking on both sides will utilize OpenSSL for TLS security. The performance focus intends to bypass HTTP in favor of raw TCP. Therefore, this app will not expose a universal api (sadly)
+and extra features like request methods and response checking are entirely up to us. Authentication, data streaming, and media handling are also made more difficult to the benefit of complete
+packet control.
+
+The server is a headless C++ process that connects to a PostgreSQL database using libpqxx. A single server process along with a single database instance should represent the equivalent of one
+discord server, with multiple users and text channels. Users are localized to only one server in this case, so external account tracking would be needed if per-server anonymity is not desired.
+An Accordion server allows clients to view and publish chat messages; authentication is up in the air currently. 🤯
+
+Total running list of external software source packages:
+ - OpenSSL: TLS Networking Security 
+ - RtMidi: Realtime Audio I/O Processing
+ - libconfig++: Configuration File Interfacing
+ - more to come in the future 🐰
+Similarly, a list of dependent linux packages:
+ - openssl: needed for secure networking
+ - anything else that was fixed by running `sudo apt install package`
+
+## Development plan: 
+- [x] Build & project setup, get working hello-world program.
+- [ ] TCP Demo between client and server
+- [ ] Add TLS with OpenSSL on top of the TCP 
+- [ ] Build and deploy server to a Docker container in a CI/CD pipeline
+- [ ] Implement PostgreSQL interfacing for the server
+- [ ] Checkpoint the client<->server model for basic crud actions
+- [ ] Create client GUI with QML: display responded messages and textbox + button for sending
+- [ ] Support mutliple clients per server- identify unique users and attach them to messages
+- [ ] Check Windows networking capabilities for cross-platform support on the client app
+- [ ] Anything below here is future goals
+- [ ] Test UDP packet sending
+- [ ] RtAudio through UDP demo: simple loop-back test from client -> server -> back to client
+- [ ] Multiple text channels, maybe a new table for each channel? might be overkill idk
+- [ ] I think soundboards are really cool
+
+## Build Instructions
+
+Note: The server is intended for Linux only, and development for the client is still in Linux-only mode, at least in WSL.
+
+Prerequisites:
+CMake: https://cmake.org/download/ \
+Qt6::QML: https://www.qt.io/development/download-qt-installer-oss \
+Note: you must export the Qt install location to your environment. E.g. add the following to a powershell profile: `$env:Qt6_DIR = "C:\Qt\6.10.1\msvc2022_64"`
+
+Compiler that supports C++20. Builds have been tested with GCC12 & MSVC17
+
+Clone repository
+```PowerShell
+git clone https://git.vxbard.net/homeburger/accordion.git
+git clone --recurse-submodules https://git.vxbard.net/homeburger/accordion.git # if there's submodules
+git submodule update --init --recursive # if you cloned without submodules and need them
+```
+
+Build:
+```PowerShell
+# configure
+> cmake -S . -B build
+# build
+> cmake --build build -j
+```
+The top-level cmake will automatically build both the client and the server. If you don't want to bother with the server, cd into client directory first.
+
+Execute:
+```Powershell
+> .\build\Debug\accordion.exe
+> .\build\Release\accordion.exe
+```
+```bash
+$ ./build/accordion
+```
+
+## Configurations
+Configuration files are located in the config directory. They offer options to change the program's settings without recompiling. Eventually I might make a user's guide for the configurations, but there's not too much there right now.
+Configurations also exist for the server, but must involve rebuilding and restarting the docker container (hip hip hooray for CI/CD)