Ideas for networking project

Question

Hi all,

I'm a graduating senior in computer science taking a computer networks class and I'm trying to figure out my final project. I normally am not at a loss for ideas but be it senioritis or straight burn out, I've got nothing. I've done some fun stuff in the past, but I just can't seem to come up with a good idea. Given the mass of brilliance on this site, I figured it would be a good place to request some suggestions. To give you an idea of scope, it's due in about a month and I would consider myself proficient with mobile architectures like Android (although I have no iPhone experience) along with Java, C++, etc. If you can suggest an idea, I'd be happy to make it work in whatever language I know. Like I said, I'm a senior and will be graduating so I'd rather not take on something that would kill me...

Also, I'd be happy to make it open source if it's an idea you'd always wanted to work on but didn't have the time to start.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Chris

Edit 1: Thanks so much for the suggestions everyone! Unfortunately I've actually already written a chat client (for a network security class) and I think I'd run into some honor code issues if I did that again, although that's always a great option. I like the game idea and that's actually something I've never attempted before (in any capacity) although given that, I'm a little scared about time...

Edit 2: I'm going to go with the networked game as it's something I haven't done before and I feel like I could do it in the allotted time. Thanks again!

Answer 1

How about a networked game?

Usually these projects are both fun and relevant to networking. Because you only have a month, you might not want to try to code The Sims; perhaps Battleship or MineSweeper instead.

Answer 2

I always try to write a simple chat application first.

It uses various basic techniques , is not too difficult to implement and very easy to demonstrate. If it turns out to be too easy, you can simply add a few new features (for instance, separate channels instead of only a single global room).

Answer 3

A networked game of Slapjack could be good enough for your class. There's very little game logic and it gives you the challenge of determining who slapped first.