C++ Networking Tutorial

Introduction to Sockets

Sockets provide an interface for communication between processes over a network. C++ networking relies on libraries like boost::asio or native APIs like Winsock on Windows and sys/socket.h on Linux.

Creating a TCP Client

#include <iostream>
#include <boost/asio.hpp>

using namespace boost::asio;
using ip::tcp;

int main() {
    io_service io;
    tcp::socket socket(io);
    socket.connect(tcp::endpoint(ip::address::from_string("127.0.0.1"), 8080));

    std::string message = "Hello, Server!";
    socket.write_some(buffer(message));

    return 0;
}
                

Creating a TCP Server

#include <iostream>
#include <boost/asio.hpp>

using namespace boost::asio;
using ip::tcp;

int main() {
    io_service io;
    tcp::acceptor acceptor(io, tcp::endpoint(tcp::v4(), 8080));

    tcp::socket socket(io);
    acceptor.accept(socket);

    std::array buffer;
    size_t length = socket.read_some(buffer(buffer));
    std::cout << "Received: " << std::string(buffer.data(), length) << std::endl;

    return 0;
}
                

Using UDP for Communication

UDP is faster but less reliable. Use it for lightweight communication where data loss is acceptable.

// UDP Example using Boost.Asio
// Similar to TCP, but use udp::socket and udp::endpoint
                

Key Takeaways

• Use TCP for reliable communication.
• Use UDP for faster, lightweight communication.
• Libraries like Boost.Asio simplify networking in C++.