Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!rutgers!modus!otello!gear!cadlab!martelli
From: martelli@cadlab.sublink.ORG (Alex Martelli)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.ultrix
Subject: Re: My FIRST Network Application - HELP
Keywords: TCP, X/Open
Message-ID: <894@cadlab.sublink.ORG>
Date: 6 Jun 91 10:29:52 GMT
References: <1991Jun4.155640.26777@mlb.semi.harris.com>
Organization: CAD.LAB, Bologna, Italia
Lines: 30

dcb@dave.mis.semi.harris.com (Dave Brillhart) writes:
:I would like some advice before starting my first 'network' application.
	...
:I will be programming in C.  Should I  look into sockets? I've also read
:a little about something called the X/Open transport interface.
:
:ANY suggestions would help at this point.

W. Richard Stevens, "Unix Network programming", Prentice-Hall 1990, ISBN
0-13-949876-1, 748 pages.  GREAT book!  FULL of C source examples, which
you could type in and run immediately; also LOTS of both theoretical and
practical notions and advice, such as, say, 20 pages on what makes a
process a "daemon", checklists of things you should not forget to do when
daemonizing, BSD/SysV differences on the matter, and source snippets.
Heavyweight contender for my coveted award of "Most Useful and Instructive
Technical Book Ever"!

Also look at the very recent post in comp.sources.reviewed of a "super
server" program, that can make ANY other program into a networked server; 
together with a smattering of notions about what a network IS all about
(and client/server programming in general), and (my opinion!) Perl
instead of raw C, this should allow you to fully solve your original
problem VERY fast - say, one week to get and port Perl and supersrv, and
to skim a few chapters of Stevens', one more week to implement and test
(on a small, not-too-heterogeneous network) your application. GO FOR IT!
-- 
Alex Martelli - CAD.LAB s.p.a., v. Stalingrado 53, Bologna, Italia
Email: (work:) martelli@cadlab.sublink.org, (home:) alex@am.sublink.org
Phone: (work:) ++39 (51) 371099, (home:) ++39 (51) 250434; 
Fax: ++39 (51) 366964 (work only), Fidonet: 332/407.314 (home only).