Putting it together...

I have been using word pictures to try and help you understand the internet terms. This post will be the culmination of them all. First, a little refresher:

An IP is like your computer's address
A port is like a door
A TCP connection is like a mail system
A packet is like a piece of mail.
A socket is a combination of both an IP and a port

So first, your server will open up a door(port) next your client will open a door(port) Then the client will attempt to 'mail' (Send using TCP) a piece of information(a packet) to the server's 'house'(IP address) and in the open door(port) the combination of the house and door is a socket.

That is the basic gist of online communications. You will be sending packets back and forth between a server and a client. These packets can contain many things from a player's x and y position to a chat message.

IP

In order to continue I need to define some terms, so this is a little mini series before I keep going

I.P. Address

An IP is basically like an address for your computer. Everyone has a different one. It can be paralleled to a street address. It is your own personal space. It is for your computer and your computer only.

IPs are always written in the format xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (where ‘x’ is a positive number)

One special IP that can be used for your own computer is 127.000.000.001 (which can be written in short as 127.0.0.1) This is like saying ‘home’ instead of 123 maple st. Whenever you use the IP 127.0.0.1 you mean your own computer.

To find out your own IP I recommend http://www.ip-adress.com/it is very simple. You simply visit the page and it tells you your current IP.