How to open and use a socket in C?

Question

I would like to know the simplest and most effective way to open and write data to a socket in the C programming language for network programming.

Answer 1

You're right, using sockets in C has a difficult syntax. Later languages like Java and Python make it a snap by comparison. The best tutorial I've found for doing socket programming in C is Beej's Guide to Network Programming. I recommend you start at the beginning to get a good overview, but if you just need to get some code working now, you can skip ahead to the section titled Client-Server Background.

Good luck!

Answer 2

You don't mention what platform you are on, but a copy of Unix Network Programming by Stevens would be a good addition to your bookshelf. Most operating systems implement Berkley Sockets using socket, bind, connect, etc.