Working with Sockets

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The socket components enable you to create an application that can communicate with other systems using TCP/IP and related protocols. Using sockets, you can read and write over connections to other machines without worrying about the details of the underlying networking software. Sockets provide connections based on the TCP/IP protocol, but are sufficiently general to work with related protocols such as User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Xerox Network System (XNS), Digital's DECnet, or Novell's IPX/SPX family.

Using sockets, you can write network servers or client applications that read from and write to other systems. A server or client application is usually dedicated to a single service such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Using server sockets, an application that provides one of these services can link to client applications that want to use that service. Client sockets allow an application that uses one of these services to link to server applications that provide the service.

Topics

• Implementing Services Overview
  • Understanding Service Protocols
  • Services and Ports
• Types of Socket Connections
  • Client Connections
  • Listening Connections
  • Server Connections
• Describing Sockets
  • Describing the Host
  • Using Ports
• Using Socket Components - Overview
  • Getting Information About the Client or Server Socket Connection
  • Using Client Sockets
    • Specifying the Desired Server
    • Forming the Connection
    • Getting Information About the Client Socket Connection
    • Closing the Connection
  • Using Server Sockets
    • Specifying the Port
    • Listening for Client Requests
    • Connecting to Clients
    • Closing Server Connections Overview
• Responding to Socket Events
  • Error Events
  • Client Events
  • Server Events
• Reading and Writing Over Socket Connections - Overview
  • Non-blocking Connections
    • Reading and Writing Events
  • Blocking Connections

See Also

• Creating Internet Server Applications Index