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<h1 class="title">Introduction</h1>
<p class="para">
The socket extension implements a low-level interface to the socket
communication functions based on the popular BSD sockets, providing the
possibility to act as a socket server as well as a client.
</p>
<p class="para">
For a more generic client-side socket interface, see
<span class="function"><a href="function.stream-socket-client.html" class="function">stream_socket_client()</a></span>,
<span class="function"><a href="function.stream-socket-server.html" class="function">stream_socket_server()</a></span>,
<span class="function"><a href="function.fsockopen.html" class="function">fsockopen()</a></span>, and
<span class="function"><a href="function.pfsockopen.html" class="function">pfsockopen()</a></span>.
</p>
<p class="para">
When using these functions, it is important to remember that while
many of them have identical names to their C counterparts, they
often have different declarations. Please be sure to read the
descriptions to avoid confusion.
</p>
<p class="para">
Those unfamiliar with socket programming can find a lot
of useful material in the appropriate Unix man pages, and there is a great
deal of tutorial information on socket programming in C on the web, much
of which can be applied, with slight modifications, to socket programming
in PHP. The <a href="http://www.unixguide.net/network/socketfaq/" class="link external">» Unix Socket
FAQ</a> might be a good start.
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