The SocketTools .NET components can be used with any Visual Studio .NET programming language. It is important to note that SocketTools .NET requires the .NET Framework and cannot be used in a non-managed development environment or with earlier versions of Microsoft's programming tools such as Visual Basic 6.0 or Visual C++ 6.0.

Features of the SocketTools .NET Edition include:

• The SocketTools classes provide a simple interface that is easy to use and understand. There are no complicated methods or data structures to use, and most methods are overloaded to provide reasonable defaults appropriate for most applications. Most complex operations can be performed with only a few lines of code.
• There are no external dependencies on third party libraries or components. The SocketTools classes are managed code classes and are not "wrappers" around ActiveX controls or COM libraries.
• The class interfaces were designed to be as similar as possible to the COM version of the components, reducing the learning curve for developers who are already familiar with SocketTools and reducing the amount of time required to port an application to the .NET platform.
• A comprehensive design which supports both high-level operations as well as lower-level methods at the protocol level. For example, the File Transfer Protocol component has methods such as PutFile and GetFile which allow an application to easily upload and download files in a single method call. It also includes lower-level methods like OpenFile to open a file on the remote server and access it in a fashion similar to traditional file I/O operations.
• Support for both synchronous (blocking) and asynchronous (non-blocking) operation depending on the needs of the application. Asynchronous operation is supported by an event-driven model where the application is notified of networking events by events generated by the component. Event notification can be enabled, disabled and resumed completely under the control of the application, giving developers complete freedom in controlling their behavior of their software. Synchronous operation is also fully supported, enabling developers to easily write programs using a procedural programming style without the inherent complexity of an event-driven model.
• A thread-safe implementation that allows the classes to be easily used in a multi-threaded application. SocketTools handles any internal synchronization required, ensuring that multiple, simultaneous operations can be performed safely and efficiently without extensive coding on the part of the developer.
• The Secure .NET  Edition enables applications to take advantage of complex security features, such as support for the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) standards and 128-bit encryption without requiring any knowledge of data encryption or certificate validation. The components use the Windows CryptoAPI to provide security services, which means that there are no third-party security libraries that must be installed by your users. Taking advantage of the security features in the SocketTools Secure .NET  Edition is as simple as setting a few properties before connecting to the server. The protocol negotiation, data encryption and decryption is handled transparently by the control. From the perspective of the application developer, it is just as if it were a standard connection to the server.

The SocketTools .NET Edition includes everything professional software developers need to create complex programs, enabling developers to focus on their core application technology rather than the details of how a particular application protocol is implemented or understanding the specifics of network programming.

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