Network Programming with Perl

IO::Socket Methods

We'll now look at IO::Socket in greater depth.

The IO::Handle Class Hierarchy

Figure 5.3 diagrams the IO::Handle class hierarchy. The patriarch of the family tree, IO::Handle, provides object-oriented syntax for all of Perl's various input/output methods. Its immediate descendent, IO::Socket, defines additional methods that are suitable for Berkeley sockets. IO::Socket has two descendents. IO::Socket::INET defines behaviors that are specific for Internet domain sockets; IO::Socket::UNIX defines appropriate behaviors for AF_UNIX (a.k.a., AF_LOCAL) sockets.

Figure 5.3. The IO::Handle class hierarchy

One never creates an ...