C++ server socket

In C programming language, a server socket is a type of socket that is used to listen for incoming connections from clients. The server socket is created using the socket() system call with the AF_INET (IPv4) or AF_INET6 (IPv6) address family and the SOCK_STREAM protocol type.

Once the server socket is created, it must be bound to a specific port number on the local machine using the bind() system call. This tells the operating system to route incoming client connections to this specific port on the server.

The server socket then enters a loop where it listens for incoming client connections using the listen() system call. When a client connects to the server, the server socket accepts the connection using the accept() system call, which creates a new socket dedicated to communication with that specific client.

The server socket can then handle multiple client connections simultaneously by creating a new thread or process for each accepted connection. The server can send and receive data over each client socket using the read() and write() system calls.

Overall, the server socket provides the foundation for building networked applications that require communication between multiple clients and a central server.