Network socket

A network socket is a way for computers to talk to each other over the internet. It's like a little hole that your computer can use to send and receive messages to and from other computers.

Think of it like a secret clubhouse with a little window that people can use to pass notes back and forth. The clubhouse has a special code that only certain people know and when those people use the code to talk to each other, they can pass messages through the little window.

Similarly, when your computer wants to talk to another computer over the internet, it uses a network socket. The socket has a special number called a port, which is like the code for the clubhouse. When your computer sends a message to another computer, it sends it through a specific port number that the other computer is listening on.

The other computer receives the message on its socket, just like someone receiving a note through the little window of the secret clubhouse. The two computers can then continue to talk to each other back and forth by using the same socket and port numbers to send and receive messages.

So, a network socket is like a little hole that your computer can use to communicate with other computers over the internet. And just like the secret clubhouse, it has a special code that allows only certain computers to talk to each other.