🌐 Python Socket Programming Tutorial

Introduction to Sockets

Sockets are fundamental for network communication in Python. They allow programs to interact with other devices over a network using protocols like TCP or UDP. 📡

• TCP (Transmission Control Protocol): Reliable, connection-oriented communication
• UDP (User Datagram Protocol): Faster but less reliable, connectionless communication

Basic Socket Operations

Here’s how to create a simple socket in Python:

1. Import socket module:

   import socket
   

2. Create a socket object:

   s = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
   

3. Bind the socket to an address:

   s.bind(("localhost", 12345))
   

4. Listen for incoming connections:

   s.listen(1)
   

5. Accept connections and send/receive data:

   conn, addr = s.accept()
   conn.send("Hello from server!".encode())
   data = conn.recv(1024).decode()
   

Example: Echo Server

A simple echo server that sends back received data:

import socket

# Create socket
server_socket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
server_socket.bind(('localhost', 12345))
server_socket.listen(1)

print("Server is listening...")
conn, addr = server_socket.accept()
print(f"Connected to {addr}")
data = conn.recv(1024).decode()
conn.send(data.encode())
conn.close()

Applications of Sockets

Sockets are used in:

• Web servers (HTTP)
• Chat applications (TCP)
• Gaming (UDP)
• File transfer (TCP)

Explore more about network programming in Python: /en/courses/Python_Tutorials/network_programming