Socket Programming in C
geeksforgeeks.org/socket-programming-cc
December 6, 2016
Last Updated : 11 Oct, 2024
What is Socket Programming?
Socket programming is a way of connecting two nodes on a network to communicate with
each other. One socket(node) listens on a particular port at an IP, while the other socket
reaches out to the other to form a connection. The server forms the listener socket while
the client reaches out to the server.
State Diagram for Server and Client Model
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State diagram for server and
client model of Socket
Stages for Server
The server is created using the following steps:
1. Socket Creation
int sockfd = socket(domain, type, protocol)
sockfd: socket descriptor, an integer (like a file handle)
domain: integer, specifies communication domain. We use AF_ LOCAL as defined
in the POSIX standard for communication between processes on the same host.
For communicating between processes on different hosts connected by IPV4, we
use AF_INET and AF_I NET 6 for processes connected by IPV6.
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type: communication type
SOCK_STREAM: TCP(reliable, connection-oriented)
SOCK_DGRAM: UDP(unreliable, connectionless)
protocol: Protocol value for Internet Protocol(IP), which is 0. This is the same
number that appears on the protocol field in the IP header of a packet.(man
protocols for more details)
2. Setsockopt
This helps in manipulating options for the socket referred by the file descriptor sockfd.
This is completely optional, but it helps in reuse of address and port. Prevents error such
as: “address already in use”.
int setsockopt(int sockfd, int level, int optname, const void *optval, socklen_t
optlen);
3. Bind
int bind(int sockfd, const struct sockaddr *addr, socklen_t addrlen);
After the creation of the socket, the bind function binds the socket to the address and port
number specified in addr(custom data structure). In the example code, we bind the server
to the localhost, hence we use INADDR_ANY to specify the IP address.
4. Listen
int listen(int sockfd, int backlog);
It puts the server socket in a passive mode, where it waits for the client to approach the
server to make a connection. The backlog, defines the maximum length to which the
queue of pending connections for sockfd may grow. If a connection request arrives when
the queue is full, the client may receive an error with an indication of ECONNREFUSED.
5. Accept
int new_socket= accept(int sockfd, struct sockaddr *addr, socklen_t *addrlen);
It extracts the first connection request on the queue of pending connections for the
listening socket, sockfd, creates a new connected socket, and returns a new file
descriptor referring to that socket. At this point, the connection is established between
client and server, and they are ready to transfer data.
Stages for Client
1. Socket connection: Exactly the same as that of server’s socket creation
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2. Connect: The connect() system call connects the socket referred to by the file
descriptor sockfd to the address specified by addr. Server’s address and port is specified
in addr.
int connect(int sockfd, const struct sockaddr *addr, socklen_t addrlen);
Implementation
Here we are exchanging one hello message between server and client to demonstrate
the client/server model.
C Program to Create Server
Server.c
C Program to Create Client
client.c
Output
Client:Hello message sent
Hello from server
Server:Hello from client
Hello message sent
Compiling
gcc client.c -o client
gcc server.c -o server
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