SocketTools Features

SocketTools provides a complete solution for Internet application development, and has met and exceeded the real world needs of developers for over ten years. With SocketTools, you'll be more productive, create superior applications faster and meet the increasingly complex needs of your customers. Here are some of the advantages of using SocketTools to build your next application:

Rapid Development

SocketTools components are designed to make it easy to implement Internet functionality in your applications, without sacrificing functionality. With SocketTools, you can focus on your core application logic, and not worry about the implementation details of specific Internet protocols, the Windows Sockets API or complex data encryption algorithms.

All of the SocketTools components and libraries share a similar design, with consistent naming conventions and implementation across the entire family of products. This greatly reduces the overall learning curve, and once you've started working with one component or library, you'll find it even easier to work with the others.

Security and Reliability

The SocketTools Secure Editions provide industry standard security using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols. Our components and libraries support strong, commercial grade 128-bit encryption over the Internet, and don't rely on WinInet or third-party toolkits which have licensing restrictions or are encumbered by patents. Set a single property or option, and SocketTools automatically handles all of the complex certificate management, protocol negotiation and encryption for you. Even advanced options, such as using client certificates, are handled easily with just a few lines of code.

Features and Compatibility

Although you'll find SocketTools easy to use, you won't be sacrificing features or flexibility in your applications. Each component and library provides you with direct access to advanced functionality, such as the ability to send commands at the application protocol level. SocketTools also features broad compatibility with the Windows platform, supporting Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. As the application developer, you don't need to be concerned about the underlying differences between the different versions of Windows, SocketTools handles it all for you transparently.

Extended Debugging Facilities

Each SocketTools component and library provides debugging facilities that enable the developer to generate logs of network activity. There are several levels of logging supported, from very basic information about the network functions being called, up to extremely detailed information that includes hex dumps of every byte sent and received by the application over the network. Debugging can be selectively enabled and disabled, completely under the control of your application. These logfiles can also be used as additional information to send to our technical support staff and help identify any potential problems.

Comprehensive Documentation

Each SocketTools Edition includes comprehensive documentation and online help. The Developer's Guide covers general programming topics, implementation details and specific information on how to use SocketTools with various programming languages. The Technical Reference provides exhaustive detail on every interface for each component and library in the product. Documentation is provided in standard HTML Help format, as well as a printable document in PDF format. In fact, our documentation is so extensive that the complete Developer's Guide and Technical Reference material for the SocketTools .NET Edition alone is over 3,000 pages.

Exceptional Technical Support

As a developer using SocketTools, you'll be able to take advantage of the best technical support in the industry. Catalyst provides a wide range of technical support options, from completely free support to priority support for developers who need immediate access to technical support staff, voice support and on-demand hotfixes as they're released. We also provide online help, sample programs, FAQs and access to our extensive Knowledge Base and technical support forums to all registered developers.

Royalty Free Redistribution

There are no runtime licensing fees or additional royalties for using SocketTools components. There is no forced online registration and our components function with complete transparency. We understand that it is your application, and you should be free to redistribute it as you wish. The license agreement also permits developers to install SocketTools on more than one system, as long as there is no chance that more than one developer will be using the same licensed copy of the product.

SocketTools Edition

SocketTools Links

Product Wizard
Decide which SocketTools Edition best meets your needs.

SocketTools 5.0
Read about what is new in the latest version of SocketTools.

SocketTools Overview
An overview of the SocketTools editions, features and benefits.

SocketTools Features
Additional information about the product features.

Design Concepts
Design concepts for the SocketTools product suite.

Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the most common questions about SocketTools.

Release Notes
Release notes for the current version of SocketTools.

License Agreement
The developer license agreement for this product.