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In computing, Winsock (also Windows Sockets) is a specification that defines how Windows network software should access network services, especially TCP/IP.
Winsock intends to provide a single API to which both application developers and network software vendors should conform. For any particular version of Microsoft Windows, Winsock defines a binary interface (ABI) that guarantees an application conforming to the Winsock API will function in concert with any similarly conformant protocol implementation released by any network software vendor..
Winsock is based on BSD sockets, but provides additional functionality to allow the API to comply with the standard Windows programming model.
Winsock was conceived at the Interop in October 1991 during a "Birds of a Feather" session.
Implementations
Windows Sockets has been supported by every version of Microsoft's operating system since Windows 3.0.
- Version 2 of Winsock was supplied with Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, and all subsequent Windows operating systems. It provided functions that allowed a greater number of supported protocols, asynchronous notification of network events, multicasting and quality of service functionality.
Under Winsock version 2, Microsoft provided support in the specification support for TCP/IP, IPX/SPX and DEC's DECNet (DEC offer an implementation of the aforementioned protocol). Winsock 2 includes mechanisms, both 32-bit and 16-bit, for multiple protocol support in Windows Sockets.
NetManage (NEWT), Distinct, Fawcette Technical Publications and Frontier have shipped Winsock TCP/IP stacks, as have Microsoft (Windows NT and TCP/IP for Windows for Workgroups), Beame & Whiteside Software (v1.1 compliant) and Sun PC-NFS. Windows 95 has dial-up networking, which supports Winsock over TCP/IP.
winsock.dll is available from some TCP/IP stack vendors. Novell, Inc. has released an implementation for their Lan Workplace for DOS.
Trumpet Software has released a shareware Winsock compliant TCP/IP stack.
Source
Adapted from: Aboba, Bernard D., comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc, Frequently Asked Questions, 1993. Usenet: news:news.answers.
Thanks to http://www.foldoc.org
External Links
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