Windows Sockets Programming Simplified

SocketWrench is a general purpose TCP/IP networking component designed to simplify the development of Internet client and server applications. Using SocketWrench, you can connect to any service over the Internet, and can even create your own custom servers. The product includes a managed .NET component for Visual Studio 2003 and later versions, an ActiveX control for use in languages like Visual Basic, Visual FoxPro and PowerBuilder, as well as a standard dynamic link library (DLL) which can be used with virtually any Windows programming language. SocketWrench gives you maximum flexibility, all in a single product.

The following is a brief summary of just some of the features in SocketWrench:

• Includes a managed component written in C#, compatible with any .NET language
• Includes an ATL based ActiveX control compatible with most languages
• Includes a Windows dynamic link library (DLL) for maximum performance
• Fully compatible with Visual Studio 2003/2005/2008/2010
• Versions 1.1, 2.0, 3.5 and 4.0 of the .NET Framework are supported
• Supports both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows platforms
• Low resource utilization and no external dependencies on third-party libraries
• Simplifies the development of networking applications
• Supports both IPv4 and IPv6 network connections
• Support for both synchronous and asynchronous network connections
• Easily create both secure client and server applications
• Support for the standard SSL and TLS security protocols with up to 256-bit encryption
• Support for client certificates when required by the remote host
• Support for both implicit and explicit SSL and TLS connections
• Thread-safe implementation with full support for multithreaded applications
• An extensive Developer's Guide and online Technical Reference
• A professional technical support staff and extensive online support resources
• No runtime licensing fees or additional royalties

SocketWrench .NET Class

SocketWrench includes a managed class library designed for the .NET Framework that can be used with Visual Studio .NET 2003 and later versions, including Visual Studio 2010. SocketWrench provides full support for general purpose Internet programming and can be used to create both client server applications. The .NET class also includes support for secure connections using the industry standard SSL and TLS protocols. By simply setting a few properties, a secure connection using strong encryption can be established, providing your application with the greatest flexibility and highest level of security available. The SocketWrench .NET class interface is similar to the interface used by the ActiveX version of the component, simplifying the transition between the two development platforms. Developers who are familiar with the ActiveX control will find the .NET class to be just as easy to use.

SocketWrench ActiveX Control

SocketWrench Library

For developers who prefer a lower-level interface, SocketWrench also includes a standard Windows dynamic link library (DLL) which can be used with virtually any programming language. The SocketWrench library provides an API that is very similar to the standard Windows API, and uses common data types for broad compatibility. Function declarations (prototypes) and constants are included for C/C++, Visual Basic, PowerBASIC and several other languages. Whether you want to create client or server applications, the SocketWrench API includes everything you need in a single library. It is important to note that the SocketWrench DLL is not a COM component, and does not require registration or have any complex redistribution requirements. All you need to do is copy the library to same folder as your application executable, and you're done.

New SocketWrench 7.2 Features

1. Build custom server applications effortlessly. One of the most complex tasks in Internet software development is creating a custom server application that can reliably handle a large number of client connections. SocketWrench 7.0 introduces a new Internet Server component to simplify the development of custom servers, providing an easy-to-use framework where the only code you need to write is in response to events that are sent to your application. With a single function call, you can create a scalable, multi-threaded, event-driven server that can be used to accept connections from clients anywhere in the world, or just on your local intranet. All of the networking, thread management, synchronization and messaging are handled internally by the framework, allowing you to focus on writing your own code without worrying about the complex details of the server implementation.
2. Fully compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, and is designed to take advantage of new features introduced in Microsoft's latest operating system. Our developers use Windows 7 and Visual Studio 2008 as their primary development platform, so we work with the operating system every day and understand how it impacts application development. Of course, SocketWrench is also fully supported under Windows Vista, Windows XP SP3 and SP2, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000. If your users are upgrading to Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, then we recommend that you to upgrade to SocketWrench 7.2 to ensure compatibility.
3. Improved performance and reliability. A new internal memory management system improves how large blocks of memory are allocated and managed, both overall and on a per-client basis. In particular, complex multithreaded applications which create multiple client sessions can see increased performance and use fewer resources over the lifetime of the application.
4. Enhanced security features. Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a new encryption standard that is being widely adopted by the United States government and organizations around the world. SocketWrench 7.2 supports AES on the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 platforms, enabling your application to take advantage of the latest security features without requiring any changes to your applications.
5. Target multiple frameworks with the SocketTools .NET Edition. Assemblies for the 1.1, 2.0 and 3.5 .NET Frameworks are included in the same product, enabling developers to specifically target which framework they are using to deploy their application. Although most new development today is using Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2008, we realize there are still a large number of developers who are creating applications using Visual Studio .NET 2003, and we will continue to provide support for the older versions of Visual Studio. Regardless of which version of .NET you're using, the SocketTools classes have identical interfaces and are completely source-compatible with one another.
6. Backwards compatibility with previous versions of SocketWrench. If you are currently using version 6.0 or earlier, the components in version 7.0 have a compatible interface and will require few, if any changes to your existing code. While new features have been added, the existing class interfaces and APIs remain substantially the same. In most cases, all you will need to do is remove the old version of the control, class or library, replace it with the new version and recompile your application. Because the 6.0 components are designed to work side-by-side with previous versions, it also means that you can deploy new versions of your software without worrying about DLL conflicts or other version incompatibilities.
7. Expanded technical reference documentation. The reference material for SocketWrench is extensive, and in version 7.0 we've worked to make it both easy to understand and comprehensive. Available in HTML Help format, the SocketWrench documentation includes a Developer's Guide to get you up and running quickly, and a Technical Reference that provides extensive documentation for every API function, class method, property and event.
8. Expanded and updated example code, including examples for Visual Studio 2008, Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio .NET 2003. We've reorganized many of the examples included with SocketTools to make them easier to find, easier to understand and extend for your own use. In addition to new examples for the current version of Visual Studio, we've also retained and updated the examples for Visual Basic 6.0 and Visual C++ 6.0 because we realize that some developers continue to use the older development tools. Additional examples for third-party languages like PowerBASIC and RealBasic have also been included based on customer feedback.

For more information, please review the SocketWrench FAQ in the support section of our website. We also encourage you to download a free evaluation copy of SocketWrench 7.2. The evaluation license is valid for a single development system for 30 days, it is completely functional and can be safely installed side-by-side with earlier versions of SocketWrench.