CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

Project Overview

RobotClient is a .NET 8.0 TCP client simulator for a robotic arm control system. It creates multiple concurrent TCP connections to a server, simulating robotic arm clients that can send/receive control commands and status messages.

Build and Run Commands

# Build the project
dotnet build

# Run with default settings (1 client, connects to 127.0.0.1:2000)
dotnet run

# Run with custom options (format: key=value)
dotnet run -- count=5 host=192.168.1.100 serverport=3000 localport=50000 reconnect=false

# Build Docker image
docker build -t robot-client .

# Run in Docker
docker run -it robot-client

Command-Line Options

Option	Default	Description
`count`	1	Number of client connections to create
`host`	127.0.0.1	Server host address
`serverport`	2000	Server port
`localport`	62312	Starting local port (each client uses localport + clientId)
`reconnect`	true	Enable automatic reconnection
`reconnectinterval`	5000	Reconnect delay in milliseconds
`maxreconnect`	-1	Max reconnect attempts (-1 = infinite)

Architecture

The entire application is contained in Program.cs using C# top-level statements. The architecture follows a multi-client concurrent pattern:

Core Components

ClientOptions (line 358-397): Configuration parser that processes command-line arguments into a strongly-typed options object.
RunClientAsync (line 23-50): Entry point for each client. Binds to a local port, establishes initial connection, spawns a background listener with reconnection logic, and sends initialization commands.
ConnectAsync (line 52-67): Low-level TCP connection using Socket with explicit local port binding.
RunWithReconnectAsync (line 69-134): Wrapper around the message listener that handles automatic reconnection with configurable limits and delays.
ListenServerMessagesAsync (line 181-234): Continuous receive loop that buffers incoming data and parses framed messages. Properly cleans up sockets on disconnect.
TryReadFramedMessages (line 236-293): Parses messages using <START>content<END> framing protocol. Handles partial messages and buffers incomplete data. Contains simulated robot commands:

Pickbattery,1 → Simulates picking operation (5 seconds)
Putbattery,1 → Simulates placing operation (5 seconds)

SendLoopAsync (line 295-356): Interactive console input loop allowing manual commands to specific clients using format clientId:message (e.g., 1:Status). Type exit to quit.

Initialization Sequence

Each client sends these commands on connection/startup:
1. Homed → Wait 500ms
2. Runmode,2 → Wait 500ms
3. Armobject,0 → Wait 500ms
4. Controlmode,1

Protocol

All messages use the frame format: <START>message<END>

UTF-8 encoded
Message boundaries are explicit, allowing streaming
Invalid data before <START> is discarded
Cache limits 10KB to prevent memory exhaustion

Thread Safety

ConcurrentDictionary<int, Socket> tracks active client connections
Each client runs its own background Task for receiving messages
Socket cleanup happens in finally blocks to prevent resource leaks