Assignment – Service and Identity Provider Communication (Golang)

This assignment demonstrates inter-process communication between a Service and an Identity Provider (IDP) using TCP sockets in Golang.
It simulates a basic authentication flow including user registration, token generation, and token verification.

Overview

• The IDP acts as an authentication authority.
• The Service acts as a client requesting authentication.
• Communication is done over TCP using JSON messages.
• User data and tokens are stored in memory for the duration of the program execution.

Flow of Execution

1. The IDP server is started and listens on localhost:8080.
2. The Service connects to the IDP and displays a redirect message.
3. The Service prompts the user for name and password.
4. User credentials are sent to the IDP.
5. The IDP:
   • Stores the user in memory
   • Generates an authentication token
   • Sends the token back to the Service
   • Prints the generated token on the console
6. The Service:
   • Receives the token
   • Displays it to the user
   • Prompts the user to re-enter the token
   • Verifies the token and prints the result

Project Structure

.
├── idp
│   └── main.go
├── service
│   └── main.go
├── Makefile
└── README.md

How to Run

Step 1: Start the Identity Provider

Open a terminal and run:

make idp

The IDP server will start listening on localhost:8080.

Step 2: Start the Service

Open another terminal and run:

make service

User Interaction

Service Prompts

• Redirect message to Identity Provider
• Enter user name
• Enter password
• Enter authentication token for verification

Token Verification Result

• If the entered token matches the token generated by the IDP:

  Token Verified
  

• If the token does not match:

  Invalid Token
  

Notes

• User data and authentication tokens are stored in memory and reset when the programs stop.
• This implementation is a mock authentication system intended for learning purposes.
• No persistent storage or encryption mechanisms are used beyond token generation.

Technologies Used

• Golang
• TCP networking (net package)
• JSON encoding/decoding
• In-memory data storage