计算机网络-chapter3演示文稿.PPTVIP

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 3.13 Network Programming and the Socket API The interface an application uses to specify communication is known as an Application Program Interface (API) Appendix 1 contains a simplified API (with only seven functions) example code that demonstrates how such an API can be used to create Internet applications, including a working web server Details of an API depend on the OS One particular API has emerged as the de facto standard for software that communicates over the Internet known as the socket API, and commonly abbreviated sockets The socket API is available for many OS such as Microsofts Windows systems as well as various UNIX systems, including Linux 3.14 Sockets, Descriptors, and Network I/O Because it was originally developed as part of the UNIX OS, the socket API is integrated with I/O When an application creates a socket to use for Internet OS returns a small integer descriptor that identifies the socket The application then passes the descriptor as an argument when it calls functions to perform an operation on the socket (e.g., to transfer data across the network or to receive data) In many OS, socket descriptors are integrated with other I/O descriptors as a result, an application can use the read and write operations for socket I/O or I/O to a file 3.15 Parameters and the Socket API Socket programming differs from conventional I/O An application must specify many details, such as the address of a remote computer the protocol port number and whether the application will act as a client or as a server To avoid having a single socket function with many parameters, designers of the socket API chose to define many functions An application creates a socket, and then invokes functions for details The advantage of the socket approach is that most functions have three or fewer parameters The disadvantage is that a programmer must remember to call multiple functions when using sockets Figure 3.7 summar