SocketTools Product Development
Since the release of SocketTools 1.0 in 1996, Catalyst has been committed to providing the components that developers need to integrate Internet technology with their applications. We recognize that developers need to be aware of our general plans and product strategy for the current and future versions of SocketTools.
SocketTools 3.6
SocketTools 3.6 was the last release of SocketTools that included libraries and components for 16-bit development on the Windows platform. Technical support for version 3.6 was discontinued on December 31, 2004. It is recommended that developers who are still using this version of SocketTools upgrade to the current version.
SocketTools 4.0
SocketTools 4.0 was released in 2002 and represented a major update to all of the components and libraries in the product. The ActiveX controls were rewritten to use the ActiveX Template Library (ATL) instead of the Microsoft Foundation Classes. Version 4.0 also introduced the Scripting Edition, which is a collection of COM scripting components primarily designed for server-side scripting using ASP, PHP and similar development environments. The SocketTools .NET Editions were released with version 4.5, which included managed code classes that targeted the .NET Framework. Technical support for SocketTools 4.5 ended on December 31, 2007. It is recommended that developers who are using version 4.0 or 4.5 upgrade to the current version.
SocketTools 5.0
SocketTools 5.0 was released in 2007 and completely redesigned and optimized for the current Windows platforms. Version 5.0 was a major update to the core SocketTools product, with a focus on compatibility with Windows Vista, improved interface design, lower resource overhead and increased performance. SocketTools 5.0 also included new examples, an updated technical reference and a comprehensive Developer's Guide to help developers get started using SocketTools.
SocketTools 6.0
SocketTools 6.0 is the current version of the product, and adds support for several new protocols, including general a purpose SSH component and integrated support for SFTP. Version 6.0 also introduces a new Internet Server component that greatly simplifies the development of customized, scalable, multi-threaded server applications. SocketTools 6.0 is fully supported using the latest development tools on Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP SP3 and Windows Server 2008 R2, as well as previous versions of Windows. More information about what's new in version 6.0 can be read here.