Sockets++: a uniform application programming interface for basic level communication services

This article presents an enhanced application programming interface based on the well-known BSD Sockets paradigm. The major modifications made during the redesign of Sockets are as follows: using an object-oriented design that facilitates the introduction of new communication service functions and simplifies use and learning; using a new generic communication model that supports a wide range of traditional and advanced communication services such as OSI, Internet, ISDN, and ATM services; using an abstract message-passing concept to transfer service data across the interface which enables operating systems to apply copy-avoiding mechanisms; supporting multipoint communications and enabling applications to distinguish different data streams; supporting direct forwarding of incoming data streams to outgoing streams to yield better performance; avoiding platform dependencies so as to reduce modification costs when porting applications