Windows Sockets (WinSock), a standard network API co-developed by PC network industry leaders including Microsoft, Novell, Hewlett-Packard, and FTP Software, is an extraordinary resource for Windows network programmers. This book will enable you to reap WinSock's full benefits to create client and server network applications for use on any TCP/IP network, including the Internet. It also lays the groundwork for WinSock application development using other protocol suites.

The book describes how to develop 16- and 32-bit WinSock applications, and focuses on designs that will run on any WinSock implementation. It highlights the differences that exist between WinSock DLLs, and other traps and pitfalls in network application development, and shows you how to avoid them. It covers every function in version 1.1 of the WinSock specification, and provides a detailed tour of the newest features in WinSock version 2.

Windows Sockets Network Programming is geared for novice and experienced network programmers alike. The early chapters provide a tutorial that brings novices up to speed quickly, and the remainder provides a detailed reference, with examples. These include complete source code for a number of useful applications, including an ftp client. Other topics covered include: how to create a dynamic link library to run over WinSock, how to port existing BSD Sockets source code to WinSock, and how/when to use WinSock's optional features. It also details debugging techniques and tools.

The appendices provide a quick reference for API essentials, illustrations of the TCP/IP protocol suite, an extensive error reference, and pointers to more information on or off the Internet. The accompanying disk contains the source code for all the sample applications, as well as a few other tools to help you with your programming tasks.

Dave Shute, now an independent consultant, worked for FTP when Windows Sockets first appeared on the market, originally as a technical writer and eventually as the director of marketing.