Connect Method

Establish a connection with a remote server.

Syntax

object.Connect( [RemoteHost], [RemotePort], [UserName], [Password], [Timeout], [Options] )

Remarks

This method establishes a network connection with a remote server. All arguments are optional. If a given argument is missing, then a corresponding property or properties must be set before attempting the connection, as follows:

RemoteHost
A string which specifies the host name or IP address of the remote host. If this argument is not specified, it defaults to the value of the HostAddress property if it is defined. Otherwise, it defaults to the value of the HostName property.
RemotePort
A number which specifies the port to connect to on the remote host. If this argument is not specified, it defaults to the value of the RemotePort property. A value of zero indicates that the default port number for this service should be used to establish the connection.
UserName
An optional string which specifies a username used to authenticate the client session. This argument is only required if access to the resource requires authentication. If this argument is omitted, it defaults to the value of the UserName property. An empty string means that no authentication will be performed.
Password
An optional string which specifies the password used to authenticate the client session. This argument is only required if access to the resource requires authentication. If this argument is omitted, it defaults to the value of the Password property. An empty string means that no password will be provided.
Timeout
The number of seconds that the client will wait for a response before failing the operation. A value of zero indicates that the client should wait an indefinite period of time. If this argument is not specified, the value of the Timeout property will be used as the default.
Options
A bitmask which specifies one or more options. If this parameter is omitted, it defaults to the value of the Options property. This parameter is constructed by using a bitwise operator with any of the following values:
Value Constant Description
1 httpOptionNoCache This instructs the server to not return a cached copy of the resource. When connected to an HTTP 1.0 or earlier server, this directive may be ignored.
2 httpOptionKeepAlive This instructs the server to maintain a persistent connection between requests. This can improve performance because it eliminates the need to establish a separate connection for each resource that is requested. If the server does not support the keep-alive option, the client will automatically reconnect when each resource is requested. Although it will not provide any performance benefits, this allows the option to be used with all servers.
4 httpOptionRedirect This option specifies that the client should automatically handle resource redirection. If the server indicates that the requested resource has moved to a new location, the client will close the current connection and request the resource from the new location. Note that it is possible that the redirected resource will be located on a different server.
8 httpOptionProxy This option specifies that the client should use the default proxy configuration for the local system. If the system is configured to use a proxy server, then the connection will be automatically established through that proxy; otherwise, a direct connection to the server is established. The local proxy configuration can be changed using the system Control Panel.
4096 httpOptionSecure This option specifies that the client should attempt to establish a secure connection with the server. Note that the server must support secure connections using either the SSL or TLS protocol. This option is only available in the Secure Editions of SocketTools.

Return Value

A value of zero is returned if the connection was successful. Otherwise, a non-zero error code is returned which indicates the cause of the failure.

See Also

AutoRedirect Property, HostAddress Property, HostName Property, ProxyHost Property, ProxyPort Property, ProxyType Property, RemotePort Property, RemoteService Property, URL Property, Disconnect Method, OnConnect Event


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