I'm needing to maintain a small server that I telnet into with multiple conenctions, complete tasks and logoff.

everything is fine except I need to talk to each client through the server form a client. It would be like a simple chat server.

I tried setting up a hash like this:

$connections{$user_name}{client} = $client;

and then runnig it through a loop 

foreach $key (keys %connections) {
 print $connections{$key}{client} "info to be displayed";
}
[download]

but that only sends the message to the current client (the one that generated the message). and %connections is defined as a global variable.

heres the stripped down code ... the server was stolen from the perl cookbook ... any help would be GREATLY appriated. thanks

#!/usr/bin/perl
# preforker - server who forks first
use IO::Socket;
use Symbol;
use POSIX;

# establish SERVER socket, bind and listen.
$server = IO::Socket::INET->new(LocalPort => 6969,
                                Type      => SOCK_STREAM,
                                Proto     => 'tcp',
                                Reuse     => 1,
                                Listen    => 10 )
  or die "making socket: $@\n";

# global variables
$PREFORK                = 5;        # number of children to maintain
$MAX_CLIENTS_PER_CHILD  = 5;        # number of clients each child sho
+uld process
%children               = ();       # keys are current child process I
+Ds
$children               = 0;        # current number of children

#############
%connections            = ();       #current connections
#############      

sub REAPER {                        # takes care of dead children
    $SIG{CHLD} = \&REAPER;
    my $pid = wait;
    $children --;
    delete $children{$pid};
}

sub HUNTSMAN {                      # signal handler for SIGINT
    local($SIG{CHLD}) = 'IGNORE';   # we're going to kill our children
    kill 'INT' => keys %children;
    exit;                           # clean up with dignity
}

    
# Fork off our children.
for (1 .. $PREFORK) {
    make_new_child();
}

# Install signal handlers.
$SIG{CHLD} = \&REAPER;
$SIG{INT}  = \&HUNTSMAN;

# And maintain the population.
while (1) {
    sleep;                          # wait for a signal (i.e., child's
+ death)
    for ($i = $children; $i < $PREFORK; $i++) {
        make_new_child();           # top up the child pool
    }
}

sub make_new_child {
    my $pid;
    my $sigset;
    
    # block signal for fork
    $sigset = POSIX::SigSet->new(SIGINT);
    sigprocmask(SIG_BLOCK, $sigset)
        or die "Can't block SIGINT for fork: $!\n";
    
    die "fork: $!" unless defined ($pid = fork);
    
    if ($pid) {
        # Parent records the child's birth and returns.
        sigprocmask(SIG_UNBLOCK, $sigset)
            or die "Can't unblock SIGINT for fork: $!\n";
        $children{$pid} = 1;
        $children++;
        return;
    } else {
        # Child can *not* return from this subroutine.
        $SIG{INT} = 'DEFAULT';      # make SIGINT kill us as it did be
+fore
    
        # unblock signals
        sigprocmask(SIG_UNBLOCK, $sigset)
            or die "Can't unblock SIGINT for fork: $!\n";
    
        # handle connections until we've reached $MAX_CLIENTS_PER_CHIL
+D
        for ($i=0; $i < $MAX_CLIENTS_PER_CHILD; $i++) {
            $client = $server->accept()     or last;
            # do something with the connection

################## My Code ####################

        print $client "What is your name: ";
        $user_name = <$client>;
        $connections{$user_name}{client} = $client;

        foreach $key (keys %connections) {
        Send($connections{$key}{client}, "test from $key");
        }

        }

################## End My Code ####################
    
        # tidy up gracefully and finish
    
        # this exit is VERY important, otherwise the child will become
        # a producer of more and more children, forking yourself into
        # process death.
        exit;
    }
}
[download]

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