Sign In Start Free Trial
Account

Add to playlist

Create a Playlist

Modal Close icon
You need to login to use this feature.
  • Hands-On Network Programming with C
  • Toc
  • feedback
Hands-On Network Programming with C

Hands-On Network Programming with C

By : Lewis Van Winkle
4.5 (30)
close
Hands-On Network Programming with C

Hands-On Network Programming with C

4.5 (30)
By: Lewis Van Winkle

Overview of this book

Network programming enables processes to communicate with each other over a computer network, but it is a complex task that requires programming with multiple libraries and protocols. With its support for third-party libraries and structured documentation, C is an ideal language to write network programs. Complete with step-by-step explanations of essential concepts and practical examples, this C network programming book begins with the fundamentals of Internet Protocol, TCP, and UDP. You’ll explore client-server and peer-to-peer models for information sharing and connectivity with remote computers. The book will also cover HTTP and HTTPS for communicating between your browser and website, and delve into hostname resolution with DNS, which is crucial to the functioning of the modern web. As you advance, you’ll gain insights into asynchronous socket programming and streams, and explore debugging and error handling. Finally, you’ll study network monitoring and implement security best practices. By the end of this book, you’ll have experience of working with client-server applications and be able to implement new network programs in C. The code in this book is compatible with the older C99 version as well as the latest C18 and C++17 standards. You’ll work with robust, reliable, and secure code that is portable across operating systems, including Winsock sockets for Windows and POSIX sockets for Linux and macOS.
Table of Contents (25 chapters)
close
Free Chapter
1
Section 1 - Getting Started with Network Programming
7
Section 2 - An Overview of Application Layer Protocols
11
Section 3 - Understanding Encrypted Protocols and OpenSSL
15
Section 4 - Odds and Ends

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Introducing Networks and Protocols, introduces the important concepts related to networking. This chapter includes example programs to determine your IP address pragmatically.

Chapter 2Getting to Grips with Socket APIs, introduces socket programming APIs and has you build your first networked program—a tiny web server.

Chapter 3An In-Depth Overview of TCP Connections, focuses on programming TCP sockets. In this chapter, example programs are developed for both the client and server sides.

Chapter 4Establishing UDP Connections, covers programming with User Datagram Protocol (UDP) sockets.

Chapter 5Hostname Resolution and DNS, explains how hostnames are translated into IP addresses. In this chapter, we build an example program to perform manual DNS query lookups using UDP.

Chapter 6Building a Simple Web Client, introduces HTTP—the protocol that powers websites. We dive right in and build an HTTP client in C.

Chapter 7Building a Simple Web Server, describes how to construct a fully functional web server in C. This program is able to serve a static website to any modern web browser.

Chapter 8Making Your Program Send Email, describes Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)—the protocol that is powering email. In this chapter, we develop a program that can send email over the internet.

Chapter 9Loading Secure Web Pages with HTTPS and OpenSSL, explores TLS—the protocol that secures web pages. In this chapter, we develop an HTTPS client that is capable of downloading web pages securely.

Chapter 10Implementing a Secure Web Server, continues on the security theme and explores the construction of a secure HTTPS web server.

Chapter 11Establishing SSH Connections with libssh, continues with the secure protocol theme. The use of Secure Shell (SSH) is covered to connect to a remote server, execute commands, and download files securely.

Chapter 12Network Monitoring and Security, discusses the tools and techniques used to test network functionality, troubleshoot problems, and eavesdrop on insecure communication protocols.

Chapter 13Socket Programming Tips and Pitfalls, goes into detail about TCP and addresses many important edge cases that appear in socket programming. The techniques covered are invaluable for creating robust network programs.

Chapter 14Web Programming for the Internet of Things, gives an overview of the design and programming for Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

Appendix A, Answers to Questions, provides answers to the comprehension questions given at the end of each chapter.

Appendix BSetting Up Your C Compiler on Windows, gives instructions for setting up a development environment on Windows that is needed for compiling all of the example programs in this book.

Appendix C, Setting Up Your C Compiler on Linux, provides the setup instructions for preparing your Linux computer to be capable of compiling all of the example programs in this book.

Appendix D, Setting Up Your C Compiler on macOS, gives step-by-step instructions for configuring your macOS system to be capable of compiling all of the example programs in this book.

Appendix E, Example Programs, lists each example program, by chapter, included in this book's code repository.

Unlock full access

Continue reading for free

A Packt free trial gives you instant online access to our library of over 7000 practical eBooks and videos, constantly updated with the latest in tech
bookmark search playlist download font-size

Change the font size

margin-width

Change margin width

day-mode

Change background colour

Close icon Search
Country selected

Close icon Your notes and bookmarks

Delete Bookmark

Modal Close icon
Are you sure you want to delete it?
Cancel
Yes, Delete