EN0726 Network Programming
Some of the most exciting software applications today exploit the fact
that computers are no longer standalone devices but are able to
communicate with each other using computer networks. Web services,
file sharing, email, online gaming, database access, home automation,
remote monitoring and control etc. depend upon programs that use
networks for communication. This module will show you how to develop
network programs using sockets. Sockets provide a convenient
abstraction of the network so that no matter whether communication
occurs over Ethernet, 802.11 wireless or GSM mobile networks, the
programmer's view of the network remains essentially the same. The
main ideas are presented in a series of lectures. There are ample
opportunities for practical work involving the development of network
programs. You will study relevant academic and
industry-standard literature.
News
Welcome to EN0726 for 2010. Teaching starts on Mon 18-01-2010.
Module Team
- Module Tutor
- David Kendall david.kendall@northumbria.ac.uk
- Lecturer
- Neil Eliot neil.eliot@northumbria.ac.uk
Teaching Arrangements
Lecture Mon 17.00 - 18.00 EB A102B
Lab/Seminar Fri 10.00 - 12.00 EB D003 South
Synopsis
The aim of this module is to provide a grounding in the theoretical principles and practical application of the POSIX socket API.
On completion of this module, students will be able to:
- Develop an appropriate client/server model for an internet aware application.
- Critically analyse the sockets interface requirements of a given application.
- Design, write and test, programs that use the POSIX socket API.
- Discuss applications, protocols or algorithms of current interest to the network application development research community.
Teaching Plan
The following is a provisional guide to the organisation of the module for this year. These arrangements are subject to change during the course of the module.
| Week | W/c | Lecture | Lab/seminar |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18-Jan | Introduction. [Slides] Simple Example [Slides] | Admin. Lab familiarisation. Hello World. |
| 2 | 25-Jan | Socket Preliminaries [Slides] | Network Programming Practical [Lab] [Code] |
| 3 | 01-Feb | Elementary TCP Sockets [Slides] | Network Programming Practical [Lab] [Code] |
| 4 | 08-Feb | Elementary UDP Sockets [Slides] | Network Programming Practical [Lab] |
| 5 | 15-Feb | Concurrent Servers [Slides] | Network Programming Practical [Lab] |
| 6 | 22-Feb | Broadcasting/Multicasting and Socket Options [Slides] | Network Programming Practical [Lab] |
| 7 | 01-Mar | Signals and Non-blocking I/O [Slides] | Assignment Introduction, Planning and Preparation |
| 8 | 08-Mar | I/O Multiplexing [Slides] | Network Programming Practical |
| 9 | 15-Mar | Case study | Assignment Reviews |
| 10 | 22-Mar | Assignment Surgery | Assignment Surgery |
| 11 | 29-Mar | Assignment Surgery | No lab session. Bank Holiday |
| 12 | 26-Apr | Assignment Surgery | Assignment Demonstrations |
Assessment
Summative assessment is undertaken via:
- a group programming project + individual report, assessing all learning outcomes. [Assignment Specification 12th March 2009]
Formative assessment is provided in the form of a variety of small development or analytical exercises with opportunities for discussion and review.
Recommended Reading
You are strongly advised to obtain a copy of one of the texts below for your personal use. Try the Northumbria University campus bookshop.
- [DON01] Donahoo,M., TCP/IP Sockets in C: Practical Guide for Programmers, Morgan Kaufmann, 2001 [Amazon]
- [GAY00] Gay,W., Linux Socket Programming By Example, Que, 2000 [Amazon]
- [SFR04] Stevens,W.R., Fenner,B., Rudoff,A.M., Unix Network Programming: Sockets Networking API v. 1, Addison Wesley, 2004 [Amazon]
Useful C programming reference books are:
- [HS02] Harbison,S., Steele,G., C: A Reference Manual, Prentice Hall, 2002 [Amazon]
- [KR88] Kernighan,B., Ritchie,D., The C Programming Language, Prentice Hall, 1988 [Amazon]
- [PC06] Prinz,P., Crawford,T., C in a Nutshell, O'Reilly, 2006 [Amazon]
If you are new to C programming, try the following introduction:
- [KOC04] Kochan,S. Programming in C, Sams, 2004 [Amazon]
The latest edition of a classic text about C programming in a Unix environment is:
- [SR05] Stevens,W.R., Rago,S., Advanced Programming in a Unix Environment, Addison Wesley, 2005 [Amazon]
Selected articles from the technical literature, e.g.
- IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking
- IEEE Transactions on Communications
- IEEE Internet Computing
- RFCs, IEEE & IETF standards
- IPTPS
- ACM SIGCOMM
- ACM/IEEE Symposium on Architectures for Networking and Communications Systems
- Industry white papers and technical documentation
- PDOS
Other resources
Standards and references
- IEEE Std 1003.1-2004 -- The POSIX standard
- C Programming Language standard -- Actually, this is a WG14 working paper for ISO/IEC 9899:TC2, but it reflects the consolidated standard at the time of issue (and it's free!).
- Standard C -- a handy, online reference to the Standard C language and its library. Now superseded by the references above but still an extremely useful resource.
- GNU C Library Manual [Local copy]
C Programming Tutorials
- C programming tutorial (Cardiff)
- C programming tutorial (Strathclyde)
- C programming tutorial (Washington)
C Programming Style
- Rob Pike's Notes on Programming in C
- AT&T/SUN C Programming Style Guide
- NASA C Programming Style Guide -- This is 100 pages of good advice for writing solid code. [Original link]
Other links
