Socket programming is a way of connecting two nodes on a network to communicate with each other. It involves writing computer programs that enable processes to communicate with each other across a computer network. Sockets are an essential part of effective network communication as they are the underlying concept used to transmit messages between devices over local or global networks and different processes on the same machine.
Sockets provide a low-level interface that allows for fine-grained control over the traffic that is to be sent or received. This low-level nature makes it possible to create very performant communication channels (or custom protocols) for specific use cases with low overhead that may be present in traditional protocols, which are built on top of socket communication.
Socket programming can be done in various programming languages, including C/C++, Python, and Java. The socket API is used to establish communication links between remote and local processes. In C/C++, for example, socket programming involves using the socket API to create a socket, bind it to a specific address and port, listen for incoming connections, and accept them.
In Python, working with sockets is done through the socket library, which provides a socket object with various methods like recv, send, and accept. Python socket programming can be used to create client-server applications that depend on instant message exchange or operate with huge amounts of data.
