How to: Use Sockets

Article
12/13/2006

The .NET Compact Framework supports socket-based network communications. For considerations specific to the .NET Compact Framework, see Socket Programming.

This example creates an instance of a server application and an instance of a client application, and demonstrates how the two applications communicate over a socket-based connection. The localhost address is used for the server, so both applications run on the client. An instance of the server must be running before the client can communicate with it.

To communicate over a socket connection

Create a class named Server that implements Form, and add the following code to the class:

Private Shared output As String = ""


Public Sub New() 

End Sub


Public Sub createListener() 
    ' Create an instance of the TcpListener class.
    Dim tcpListener As TcpListener = Nothing
    Dim ipAddress As IPAddress = Dns.GetHostEntry("localhost").AddressList(0)
    Try
        ' Set the listener on the local IP address.
        ' and specify the port.
        tcpListener = New TcpListener(ipAddress, 13)
        tcpListener.Start()
        output = "Waiting for a connection..."
    Catch e As Exception
        output = "Error: " + e.ToString()
        MessageBox.Show(output)
    End Try
    While True
        ' Always use a Sleep call in a while(true) loop
        ' to avoid locking up your CPU.
        Thread.Sleep(10)
        ' Create a TCP socket.
        ' If you ran this server on the desktop, you could use
        ' Socket socket = tcpListener.AcceptSocket()
        ' for greater flexibility.
        Dim tcpClient As TcpClient = tcpListener.AcceptTcpClient()
        ' Read the data stream from the client.
        Dim bytes(255) As Byte
        Dim stream As NetworkStream = tcpClient.GetStream()
        stream.Read(bytes, 0, bytes.Length)
        Dim helper As New SocketHelper()
        helper.processMsg(tcpClient, stream, bytes)
    End While

End Sub


Shared Sub Main() 
    Application.Run(New Server())

End Sub

static string output = "";

public Server()
{
}

public void createListener()
{
    // Create an instance of the TcpListener class.
    TcpListener tcpListener = null;
    IPAddress ipAddress = Dns.GetHostEntry("localhost").AddressList[0];
    try
    {
        // Set the listener on the local IP address
        // and specify the port.
        tcpListener = new TcpListener(ipAddress, 13);
        tcpListener.Start();
        output = "Waiting for a connection...";
    }
    catch (Exception e)
    {
        output = "Error: " + e.ToString();
        MessageBox.Show(output);
    }
    while (true)
    {
        // Always use a Sleep call in a while(true) loop
        // to avoid locking up your CPU.
        Thread.Sleep(10);
        // Create a TCP socket.
        // If you ran this server on the desktop, you could use
        // Socket socket = tcpListener.AcceptSocket()
        // for greater flexibility.
        TcpClient tcpClient = tcpListener.AcceptTcpClient();
        // Read the data stream from the client.
        byte[] bytes = new byte[256];
        NetworkStream stream = tcpClient.GetStream();
        stream.Read(bytes, 0, bytes.Length);
        SocketHelper helper = new SocketHelper();
        helper.processMsg(tcpClient, stream, bytes);
    }
}

static void Main()
{
    Application.Run(new Server());
}

In the Server class, provide a way to start the server. For example, call createListener in a button's Click event.

Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
    Me.createListener()
End Sub

private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    this.createListener();
}

Create a class named SocketHelper, and add the following code to the class:

Class SocketHelper
    Private mscClient As TcpClient
    Private mstrMessage As String
    Private mstrResponse As String
    Private bytesSent() As Byte

    Public Sub processMsg(ByVal client As TcpClient, ByVal stream As NetworkStream, ByVal bytesReceived() As Byte)
        ' Handle the message received and 
        ' send a response back to the client.
        mstrMessage = Encoding.ASCII.GetString(bytesReceived, 0, bytesReceived.Length)
        mscClient = client
        mstrMessage = mstrMessage.Substring(0, 5)
        If mstrMessage.Equals("Hello") Then
            mstrResponse = "Goodbye"
        Else
            mstrResponse = "What?"
        End If
        bytesSent = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(mstrResponse)
        stream.Write(bytesSent, 0, bytesSent.Length)

    End Sub
End Class

class SocketHelper
{
    TcpClient mscClient;
    string mstrMessage;
    string mstrResponse;
    byte[] bytesSent;
    public void processMsg(TcpClient client, NetworkStream stream, byte[] bytesReceived)
    {
        // Handle the message received and 
        // send a response back to the client.
        mstrMessage = Encoding.ASCII.GetString(bytesReceived, 0, bytesReceived.Length);
        mscClient = client;
        mstrMessage = mstrMessage.Substring(0, 5);
        if (mstrMessage.Equals("Hello"))
        {
            mstrResponse = "Goodbye";
        }
        else
        {
            mstrResponse = "What?";
        }
        bytesSent = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(mstrResponse);
        stream.Write(bytesSent, 0, bytesSent.Length);
    }
}

The server instantiates this class when a client connects to it.

Create a class named Client that implements Form, and add the following code to the class:

Shared Sub Connect(ByVal serverIP As String, ByVal message As String) 
Dim output As String = ""
Try
        ' Create a TcpClient.
        ' The client requires a TcpServer that is connected
        ' to the same address specified by the server and port
        ' combination.
        Dim port As Int32 = 13
        Dim client As New TcpClient(serverIP, port)

        ' Translate the passed message into ASCII and store it as a byte array.
        Dim data(255) As [Byte]
        data = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(message)

        ' Get a client stream for reading and writing.
        ' Stream stream = client.GetStream();
        Dim stream As NetworkStream = client.GetStream()

        ' Send the message to the connected TcpServer. 
        stream.Write(data, 0, data.Length)

        output = "Sent: " + message
        MessageBox.Show(output)

        ' Buffer to store the response bytes.
        data = New [Byte](255) {}

        ' String to store the response ASCII representation.
        Dim responseData As String = String.Empty

        ' Read the first batch of the TcpServer response bytes.
        Dim bytes As Int32 = stream.Read(data, 0, data.Length)
        responseData = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII.GetString(data, 0, bytes)
        output = "Received: " + responseData
        MessageBox.Show(output)

        ' Close everything.
        stream.Close()
        client.Close()
    Catch e As ArgumentNullException
        output = "ArgumentNullException: " + e.ToString()
        MessageBox.Show(output)
    Catch e As SocketException
        output = "SocketException: " + e.ToString()
        MessageBox.Show(output)
    End Try

End Sub

Shared Sub Main() 
    Application.Run(New Client())

End Sub

public Client()
    {
        this.MinimizeBox = false;
    }

static void Connect(string serverIP, string message)
    {
        string output = "";

        try
        {
            // Create a TcpClient.
            // The client requires a TcpServer that is connected
            // to the same address specified by the server and port
            // combination.
            Int32 port = 13;
            TcpClient client = new TcpClient(serverIP, port);

            // Translate the passed message into ASCII and store it as a byte array.
            Byte[] data = new Byte[256];
            data = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(message);

            // Get a client stream for reading and writing.
            // Stream stream = client.GetStream();
            NetworkStream stream = client.GetStream();

            // Send the message to the connected TcpServer. 
            stream.Write(data, 0, data.Length);

            output = "Sent: " + message;
            MessageBox.Show(output);

            // Buffer to store the response bytes.
            data = new Byte[256];

            // String to store the response ASCII representation.
            String responseData = String.Empty;

            // Read the first batch of the TcpServer response bytes.
            Int32 bytes = stream.Read(data, 0, data.Length);
            responseData = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII.GetString(data, 0, bytes);
            output = "Received: " + responseData;
            MessageBox.Show(output);

            // Close everything.
            stream.Close();
            client.Close();
        }
        catch (ArgumentNullException e)
        {
            output = "ArgumentNullException: " + e;
            MessageBox.Show(output);
        }
        catch (SocketException e)
        {
            output = "SocketException: " + e.ToString();
            MessageBox.Show(output);
        }
    }

static void Main()
    {
        Application.Run(new Client());
    }

In the Client class, provide a way for the user to connect to the server. For example, call the Connect method in a button's Click event.

Private Sub button1_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs) 
    ' In this code example, use a hard-coded
    ' IP address and message.
    Dim serverIP As String = "localhost"
    Dim message As String = "Hello"
    Connect(serverIP, message)

End Sub

private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    // In this code example, use a hard-coded
    // IP address and message.
    string serverIP = "localhost";
    string message = "Hello";
    Connect(serverIP, message);
}

Compile the server and client applications.
Deploy both applications to the device.
Run the server application on the device and start the server.
Run the client application on the device and connect to the server.

Compiling the Code

The client program requires references to the following namespaces:

The server program requires references to the following namespaces:

System
System.Collections.Generic
System.ComponentModel
System.Drawing
System.Text
System.Windows.Forms
System.Net
System.Net.Sockets
System.Threading

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How to: Use Sockets

To communicate over a socket connection

Compiling the Code

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