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This section of the Quick Start Guide provides a general overview of
the SocketTools ActiveX controls used for the most common tasks,
divided into groups based on their functionality. For a complete list
and detailed descriptions of all of the controls included in the
product, refer to the Control Overview section of the Developer's
Guide.
If your program needs to transfer files between a local computer
system and a server, SocketTools includes components which
implement the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Hypertext Transfer
Protocol (HTTP). Both protocols can be used to upload and download
files, and FTP also supports various file management functions. Which
protocol is used largely depends on the specific needs of the
application and the type of server that the program is connecting to.
A general purpose file transfer program would most likely use both
controls and allow the user to select which protocol to use.
| Control |
Description |
| FtpClient |
The File Transfer Protocol control enables an application to
upload and download files, as well as perform various file
management functions on the server. For example, the control can
be used to list the files in a directory, delete and rename
files, etc. |
| HttpClient |
The Hypertext Transfer Protocol control enables an
application to upload and download files, as well as interact
with web-based applications. The file management capabilities are
somewhat limited compared to FTP, however the protocol is not as
complex and has fewer compatibility issues with certain network
configurations. |
Applications which need to access resources on a web server and
interact with web-based applications can use the Hypertext Transfer
Protocol (HTTP) control. In the context of web services, the control
can be used to access resources on a web server, execute scripts and
other applications, as well as perform various management functions
using WebDAV, a protocol extension for distributed authoring.
| Control |
Description |
| HttpClient |
The Hypertext Transfer Protocol control enables an
application to upload and download files, as well as interact
with web-based applications. The control can be used to post data
to scripts which are executed on the server and return the output
of those scripts to the client application. |
SocketTools includes several controls which can be used to create
applications that send and receive email messages. Applications can
compose, edit and store messages on the local system, retrieve
messages from a mail server and send messages to one or more
recipients. The SocketTools controls support features such as the
ability to compose messages with styled (HTML) text, file
attachments, relay server authentication and delivery status
notification. Programs which only wish to process messages sent to a
user would typically use the MIME control and either the IMAP4 or
POP3 controls. Programs which only wish to send messages would
typically use the MIME control and the SMTP control. A full featured
mail client would use all of the following components.
| Control |
Description |
| MailMessage |
The Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) standard
defines the structure and format which is used by email
messages. This control enables you to create MIME compliant
messages easily, as well as parse existing messages, edit them
and store them on the local system. The control supports complex
multipart attachments, including messages with one or more file
attachments and messages with alternative content such as styled
HTML text. |
| ImapClient |
The Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP4) control can be
used to manage email messages on a mail server. Using this
control, you can list and retrieve messages, search for specific
messages, manage multiple mailboxes, retrieve portions of a
message and perform other advanced functions. |
| PopClient |
The Post Office Protocol (POP3) control can be used to list
the messages on a mail server and download them to the local
system. Unlike the IMAP4 protocol, which is designed to manage
messages on the server, the POP3 protocol is used primarily to
retrieve messages, store them locally and then delete them from
the server. POP3 is a simpler protocol with less functionality
than IMAP4, however it more widely supported. |
| SmtpClient |
The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) control is used to
submit a message for delivery to one or more recipients. The
control can be used to either send the message directly to the
recipient, or messages can be routed through a relay server which
is responsible for forwarding the message. Both standard SMTP and
extended ESMTP sessions are supported, along with advanced
options such as authentication and delivery status
notification. |
Applications which need to execute commands on a server or
establish a terminal session can use the SocketTools Telnet and
Remote Shell (RSH) controls. The program can connect to the server
and interact with the server in the same way that a user can with a
character based terminal. In addition, SocketTools includes a
terminal emulation control which can be used to emulate an ANSI
console or a DEC VT-220 terminal. This can be used to either provide
the user with a traditional virtual terminal interface, or the
program can read data at specific rows and columns and effectively
provide a graphical interface for a legacy character-based
application running on the server.
| Control |
Description |
| TelnetClient |
The Telnet protocol control enables the application to
establish a standard, interactive terminal session with a server.
This approach is similar to how character-based terminals
were connected to systems and users would login to the mainframe
or minicomputer. For legacy applications that run on a UNIX
server, this control can be used to connect to the server, login
and interact with the server just as a user would sitting at a
terminal. You can either choose to display the terminal session
to the user, or you can have your application present a graphical
interface to the user and interact with the terminal session in
the background. |
| RshClient |
The Remote Shell (RSH) control actually implements three
related protocols in a single component. The rshell and rexec
protocols are used to execute a command on the server and the
output from that command is returned to the client. The
difference between the two protocols has to do with how
authentication is handled. The rexec protocol uses a password to
authenticate a user session, while rshell uses host equivalence.
More information about these protocols is available in the
Technical Reference. This control also implements the rlogin
protocol, which is similar to the Telnet protocol in that it
provides an interactive terminal session. |
| Terminal |
The Terminal control emulates a standard character-based
terminal, either as an ANSI console, DEC VT-100 or DEC-VT220
terminal. The emulator supports all of the standard ANSI and DEC
escape sequences, including support for colors and line drawing.
Your program has full control over the functionality of the
control, including the color mapping, the escape sequences that
special keys (such as the function keys) send and whether the
user can do things such as select and copy text from the virtual
display. |
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