Socket Communication

What is Socket Communication?

Basic Principles of Socket Communication

• Create Socket: First, the server side needs to create a Socket object for handling connection requests from the client. The client also needs to create a Socket object to establish a connection with the server.
• Bind Address and Port: The server side needs to bind the Socket object to a specific IP address and port so that the client can find the server. The client does not need to bind an address and port; the system will automatically assign a available port.
• Listen for Connection Requests: The server side needs to call the Socket object's listen method to start accepting connection requests from the client.
• Accept Connection Requests: The server side calls the Socket object's accept method to accept the client's connection request and returns a new Socket object for communication with the client.
• Establish Connection: The client needs to call the Socket object's connect method to establish a connection with the server.
• Send and Receive Data: After establishing a connection, the client and server sides can send and receive data through the input and output streams of the Socket object.
• Close Connection: After communication is complete, both the client and server sides need to call the Socket object's close method to close the connection.

Applications of Socket Communication

• Web Server: Implementing HTTP requests and responses with clients through Socket communication.
• Chat Program: Enabling real-time chat between users through Socket communication.
• File Transfer: Implementing file transmission and sharing through Socket communication.
• Remote Login: Allowing remote login and remote operations through Socket communication.

Summary

Socket communication is a network communication method based on sockets, which enables data transmission and exchange through connected sockets. It is the most basic form of communication in network programming and is widely used in various network applications and services. Understanding the basic principles and steps of Socket communication is of great significance for network programming and development.