It’s clear that the transition to IPv6 is really taking on some urgency, and Internet service providers are under increasing pressure to start providing IPv6 connectivity to their customers. While the exact timetable isn’t clear, there’s no question that developers need to plan for these changes and make sure that their software is capable of supporting both IPv4 and IPv6 networks.

When we designed the API for SocketTools, we wanted to make it as similar to the Windows API, with similar function naming conventions and using only common data types and simple structures whenever possible. For example, instead of passing around pointers to complex context structures as some APIs do, all of the SocketTools functions using handles. We explicitly avoided using certain C/C++ constructs like unions, and use common scalar types (integers, characters, etc.) for most parameters and structure members. The goal was to make the API simple to use, reducing the overall learning curve and make it easy to use in other languages that may not have the same kind of language features that C/C++ does. For that same reason, the SocketTools Library Edition DLLs are not ActiveX DLLs that require the use of COM. However, we do include an embedded type library as a resource in the DLL that allows it to be directly referenced by Visual Basic (this makes things easier for VB6 developers who prefer to use DLLs rather than ActiveX controls).

If you’re interested in using SocketTools with a non-Microsoft C/C++ compiler, it should be fairly easy to use the libraries, particularly if the compiler supports the most common Microsoft extensions. The C++ classes do not require the use of MFC or ATL, however if exists, they will take advantage of it. We include import libraries in both COFF and OMF formats; while most compilers today use COFF, the Borland C++ compilers continue to use OMF, so you would need to link against those libraries.

For languages other than C/C++, we also provide constant and function declarations for Visual Basic 6.0, PowerBASIC, and Delphi. We also include P/Invoke declarations for Visual Basic .NET and C#. For languages that aren’t directly supported, usually the function declarations for one of these languages can get you started.

It definitely helps if you have at least a cursory understanding of ANSI C and the common data types that are used. If your programming language has documentation on how to call functions in the Windows API, you can also use that as a resource to learn what needs to be done for SocketTools. For example, if you need to know how your language handles passing a null-terminated string to a function, look at how you would call the GetFileAttributes function in your language. If you need to know how to pass a string buffer to a function that changes its value, check how you would call the GetCurrentDirectory function.

Of course, if you have any questions you can join our technical support forums and we’ll be happy to help. We may not have experience with the particular language that you’re using, but we can still provide guidance on what the SocketTools function expects and offer suggestions as to how you can get your program working.

Although Microsoft is no longer supporting these platforms, Catalyst has no plans to discontinue support for Windows 2000 or Windows XP SP2 at this time. However, it is important to consider that the inability to obtain support from Microsoft for these platforms may impact our ability to provide support to our customers. If a customer reports a problem on either of these platforms, we will follow this process:

1. If a problem is reported on Windows 2000 or Windows XP SP2, we will first attempt to reproduce that problem on a supported version of Windows. Typically, that will be on both a development system running Windows 7 and a test system running Windows XP SP3. If the problem can be reproduced, then it’s not likely to be a platform-specific issue and we’ll proceed towards resolving the issue.

2. If the problem cannot be reproduced on a supported version of Windows, we’ll attempt to reproduce it on either Windows 2000 or Windows XP SP2, depending on which platform the customer is experiencing the problem. If we can reproduce the problem, then we’ll determine the nature of the issue. For example, if the problem can be isolated as a certain network function that doesn’t have the same functionality as on supported versions of Windows, we’ll determine what change or work-around can be made to correct the problem.

3. If it is determined that the problem is specific to an unsupported version of Windows and is related to something that cannot be addressed directly in our code, such as a system configuration issue or a problem with a particular driver, then we will do our best to provide a work-around solution for the customer as a temporary measure until the customer and/or end-user can migrate to a supported platform.

While we have no immediate plans to discontinue support for these platforms, it is also important to note that future versions of our products may not include support for them, or certain features may not be available when new functionality is added to our products. If you haven’t done so already, we recommend that you make plans to migrate any of your end-users to a supported version of Windows as soon as possible. This is particularly important for any systems which have Internet connectivity because the lack of security updates for these platforms has the potential to make those systems increasingly vulnerable to malicious software and denial-of-service attacks.

SocketTools 6.0 is fully compatible with Windows 7 and it is recommended that developers download the current service pack update. For those developers who are using older versions of SocketTools, we recommend upgrading to the current version of SocketTools to ensure compatibility with the Windows 7 operating system. Customers who have purchased the SocketTools Subscription can download the latest version using the download link provided when they purchased the subscription. More information about SocketTools 6.0 is available on our website.

If you are currently using version 5.0, you can upgrade to the current version at a discounted price. Version 6.0 is source compatible with version 5.0 and can be installed side-by-side on the same development system. For more information about what’s new with SocketTools 6.0, please visit our website. If you have any questions, feel free to post in the technical support forum section appropriate for your product.

SocketTools developers who are currently using version 5.0 should download the free Service Pack 3 update that includes support for Windows Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008. For those developers who are using older versions of SocketTools, we recommend upgrading to the current version to ensure compatibility with the latest Windows operating systems and programming tools. Customers who have purchased the SocketTools Subscription can download the latest version using the download link provided when they purchased the subscription. More information about SocketTools 5.0 is available on our website at www.catalyst.com.

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is an XML-based format for sharing and distributing news and other web-based content. Using an RSS news aggregator you can download and view feeds from various sources, including our site. A news aggregator is an application that downloads and displays RSS news feeds. Internet Explorer 7 has the built-in ability to display feeds, and there are a number of stand-alone news aggregators available, such as SharpReader and FeedReader. Popular e-mail clients like Outlook 2007 and Thunderbird also include RSS aggregators.

The following Catalyst feeds are available for you to subscribe to:

General Site News
This feed provides general site updates and product information, such as upgrades and new products that have been released. If you’re a customer or evaluator, we recommend that you subscribe to make sure you’re kept up to date with the latest news.

Product Updates
This feed provides notifications for updates and hotfixes as they’re released. This is another feed that we strongly recommend that customers and evaluators subscribe to so that you know when a new version of your software is available to download.

Knowledge Base Articles
This feed provides notifications for new additions to our online Knowledge Base of troubleshooting and how-to articles, as well as fixes for known issues. Because product hotfixes are also published in the Knowledge Base, this feed will also notify you of when a new hotfix has been released.

Support Forums
This feed displays the latest messages that have been posted to our public technical support forums. If you read and/or post regularly to our forums, this is a great resource to keep on top of what has been posted lately. Of course, if you’re a customer or evaluator who would like to participate in the forums, you’re welcome to create a free account at forums.catalyst.com