Overview of Windows Sockets 2

Windows Sockets 2 is a superset of the widely deployed Windows Sockets 1.1. Windows Sockets 2 extends the 1.1 interface in a number of areas while maintaining full backward compatibility. Among other enhancements, it provides access to protocols other than TCP/IP. Winsock enables an application to use the familiar socket interface to achieve simultaneous access to any number of installed transport protocols.

While most of these protocols may be used with standard Windows Sockets 2–interface mechanisms, each supported protocol contains conventions and behaviors that developers need to be aware of. Some individual protocols support special features that do not lend themselves to being treated generically. This document provides the details that developers need to effectively use all of the supported protocols.