Introduction  
 

The SocketTools ActiveX Edition is a collection of ActiveX components (OCXs) which provide application programming interfaces for a variety of Internet protocols. Using SocketTools, you can quickly and easily write programs which upload and download files, send and retrieve email messages, execute commands on servers, establish virtual terminal sessions and perform many other tasks. With the SocketTools ActiveX Edition it is not required that you be a networking expert or understand the details of how certain networking or application protocols work.

The Developer's Guide will cover the basics of Internet programming in general, and then move on to the specific protocols supported by the SocketTools ActiveX Edition. When references are made to the Internet, the same information can generally be applied to corporate intranets. For example, the SocketTools Hypertext Transfer Protocol component can be used to communicate with a company's internal web server as well as web servers over the Internet.