SOCKET_CONNECT Function

Connects to a socket at a given host and port.

Usage

connection = SOCKET_CONNECT(host, port)

Input Parameters

host—A string specifying the host name or IP address of the server machine (the machine that the client will connect to).

port—A long integer specifying the port number to connect to on the server machine.

Keywords

None.

Returned Value

connection—On success, returns a socket handle for the connection; on failure, returns one of the following values:

–1—Unable to get host address.

–2—Could not connect to socket.

Discussion

The host parameter can be an IP address number, a DNS name, or any other valid address designation (such as, localhost).

It is good practice to close the socket connection when you are finished with it.

Example

The host must be a valid IP address. For example:

connection=SOCKET_CONNECT('www.vni.com', 80)

; Uses a DNS name for the host.

connection=SOCKET_CONNECT('192.130.240.125', 1500)

; Uses an IP address number for the host.

connection=SOCKET_CONNECT('localhost', 1500)

; Uses the local loopback address for the host.

connection=SOCKET_CONNECT('mymachine', 2100)

; Uses a local network designation for the host.