Dear Reader, I'm sure you've already read something about technologies such as
XML Web Services, Windows Forms, ASP.NET, and so on. This book is different. It
doesn't cover high-level protocols and user interface design of applications.
Instead, it deals with core network programming techniques. This book will teach
you about the underlying protocols themselves, and show you how to put network
programming at the heart of your .NET applications. This book takes you from the
fundamental concepts of networking to the world of socket programming, using
TCP, FTP, and UDP. We demonstrate how you can take advantage of multicasting
technology in your chat and picture show applications. You'll get to the heart
of HTTP, and you'll learn how to use e-mail protocols such as SMTP, POPS, and
NNTP. If you need to add security into the network layer of your application,
we'll explain how you can do this with cryptography, so you can send your data
without the risk of it being sniffed. We'll emphasize how to take advantage of
authentication features such as NTLM and Kerberos. IPv6 is now available for
.NET 1.1 developers, and we drill down into this important technology so that
you'll be ready for the Internet challenges that lie ahead. To get the most from
this book, you don't need any prior knowledge of network programming. All that's
required is some experience in .NET programming and a desire to access the
powerful .NET networking facilities. If you're already familiar with networking
from a different environment, we think you'll also find the pace and breadth of
this book a valuable bridge to the full .NET 1.1 network programming
environment. We hope you regard this book as empowering and rewarding. Christian
Nagel