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Ethernet

accept()

Description

The traditional server.available() function would only tell you of a new client after it sent data, which makes some protocols like FTP impossible to properly implement.

The intention is programs will use either available() or accept(), but not both. With available(), the client connection continues to be managed by EthernetServer. You don’t need to keep a client object, since calling available() will give you whatever client has sent data. Simple servers can be written with very little code using available().

With accept(), EthernetServer gives you the client only once, regardless of whether it has sent any data. You must keep track of the connected clients. This requires more code, but you gain more control.

Syntax

server.accept()

Parameters

none

Returns

a Client object. If no client has data available for reading, this object will evaluate to false in an if-statement. (EthernetClient).

Example

#include <SPI.h>
#include <Ethernet.h>

byte mac[] = {0xDE, 0xAD, 0xBE, 0xEF, 0xFE, 0xED};
IPAddress ip(192, 168, 69, 104);

// telnet defaults to port 23
EthernetServer server(23);

EthernetClient clients[8];

void setup() {
  Ethernet.begin(mac, ip);

  // Open serial communications and wait for port to open:
  Serial.begin(9600);
  while (!Serial) {
    ; // wait for serial port to connect. Needed for native USB port only
  }

  // start listening for clients
  server.begin();
}

void loop() {
  // check for any new client connecting, and say hello (before any incoming data)
  EthernetClient newClient = server.accept();
  if (newClient) {
    for (byte i = 0; i < 8; i++) {
      if (!clients[i]) {
        newClient.print("Hello, client number: ");
        newClient.println(i);
        // Once we "accept", the client is no longer tracked by EthernetServer
        // so we must store it into our list of clients
        clients[i] = newClient;
        break;
      }
    }
  }

  // check for incoming data from all clients
  for (byte i = 0; i < 8; i++) {
    while (clients[i] && clients[i].available() > 0) {
      // read incoming data from the client
      Serial.write(clients[i].read());
    }
  }

  // stop any clients which disconnect
  for (byte i = 0; i < 8; i++) {
    if (clients[i] && !clients[i].connected()) {
      clients[i].stop();
    }
  }
}
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See also


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