i was reading an article and came across the term 'socket' but wasnt sure what it was exactly. i looked it up and found this definition:

(1) In UNIX and some other operating systems, a software object that connects an application to a network protocol. In UNIX, for example, a program can send and receive TCP/IP messages by opening a socket and reading and writing data to and from the socket. This simplifies program development because the programmer need only worry about manipulating the socket and can rely on the operating system to actually transport messages across the network correctly. Note that a socket in this sense is completely soft - it's a software object, not a physical component.


a sockets a software ofject that can transmit data from applications. well isnt that what is port is as well?

PORT(2) In TCP/IP and UDP networks, an endpoint to a logical connection. The port number identifies what type of port it is.


thats what im confused about, and is the term socket relevant only to unix based systems as unix is mentioned twice in the definition. if anyone can clear that up for me that would be great. thanks in advance.