The Be Book - System Overview - The Network Kit
The BNetEndpoint
class represents a network endpoint, which can send and
receive data, establish network connections, bind to local addresses, and
listen for and accept new connections.
Rather than replacing the existing network architecture, the
BNetEndpoint
class provides a C++ wrapper to the standard socket functions. All the
same rules of usage apply, so be sure to review the BSD-like C socket
function material.
BNetEndpoint
objects are archivable. All attributes of the
BNetEndpoint
are preserved when archived. Upon reinstantiation, the object is
duplicated precisely. This has interesting ramifications—if the
BNetEndpoint
is connected to a remote system when it's archived, the
reinstantiated archive will also be connected to that system. You can
actually archive active connections to restore them later.
Obviously, however, protocol-specific information won't be saved unless you add that data to the archive yourself. For example, if you archive an FTP connection, then restore the connection from the archive, the working directory or any ongoing downloads won't be restored automatically.
