TCP/IP Overview

Provides TCP/IP communication services in conjunction with the Sockets Client API.

The Sockets Server defines a generic interface for all socket type communication services, and defines a plug-in architecture for implementing particular providers. TCP/IP is such a plug-in. Clients access its services through the generic Sockets Client API, specifying protocol-specific behaviour through TCP/IP-specific utility types and constants.

In v6.1 and v7.0 TCP/IP uses the Network Interface Manager (NifMan), and dial-up networking (Generic Agent) to make a dial-up connection to an ISP; in v7.0S onwards it uses the Connection Manager.

Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) is used to manage the link for TCP/IP.

The API has three key concepts: TCP/IP socket, domain name resolver, and Internet address.

TCP/IP offers IP, ICMP, TCP, and UDP socket types. Socket services are provided through the generic interface RSocket.

Client programs make DNS queries through the generic host name resolution interface RHostResolver.

A socket address, IP address and port, is encapsulated in a TInetAddr object.

Sockets Client Overview