- 2074 Asoj · 3 marks
Socket and its importance
Short answer
A socket is an endpoint for network communication, identified by IP address and port. It provides the API between applications and transport layer, enables multiple concurrent connections, hides TCP/IP details, and supports client-server and peer-to-peer applications.
What do you understand by socket? Explain its importance.
A socket is an endpoint of a two-way communication link between two programs running on the network. It is identified by an IP address + port number (e.g. 192.168.1.5:80) and a protocol (TCP or UDP). A connection is identified uniquely by the pair of sockets (source IP, source port, destination IP, destination port).
Types
- Stream socket (SOCK_STREAM): uses TCP; reliable, connection-oriented.
- Datagram socket (SOCK_DGRAM): uses UDP; connectionless.
Importance
- It is the interface (API) between the application and the transport layer; programs use calls like
socket(),bind(),listen(),accept(),connect(),send(),recv(),close(). - It lets many applications on the same host communicate at the same time through different port numbers.
- It hides the details of TCP/IP, so programmers do not manage packets directly.
- It enables client-server and peer-to-peer applications such as web, email and chat.
- It is portable across operating systems (Berkeley sockets, Winsock).
✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)
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