Most Microsoft Windows CE network communication passes through the Windows Sockets (Winsock) interface. Sockets is a general-purpose networking API. The Microsoft Windows implementation of sockets, Winsock, is designed to run efficiently on Windows operating systems while maintaining compatibility with the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) standard, known as Berkeley Sockets.
The Windows Internet API (WinInet) uses Winsock internally to handle network connections. However, Winsock can be used directly in applications. The following sections discuss how to use Winsock in Windows CE–based applications to directly control the creation and management of socket connections. TCP/IP, upon which Winsock is built, is also discussed.
Winsock supports socket-based infrared communications using industry standard Infrared Data Association (IrDA) Protocols. This support is referred to as Infrared Sockets (IrSock). Applications implement Infrared Sockets in the same way as conventional Winsock, although several Winsock functions are used differently. For more information on the using the IrDA protocols with Windows Sockets, see Using Winsock Functions with IrDA.
Windows CE supports Private Communication Technology 1.0 and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) versions 2.0 and 3.0 security Protocols. These protocols are available either directly from Winsock or through WinInet. For more information on using security protocols directly from Winsock, see Using Secure Sockets. For more information on using security protocols through WinInet, see Internet Connections.