1. Introduction
1.1. What
is
WinSock?
WinSock
ActiveX control is a part of a standard
Visual Basic 6 (VB6)
distribution.
WinSock
dramatically
simplifies the development of TCP/IP-based applications. Since the
DS100 Serial Device Server
and the
EM100 Ethernet Module
from Tibbo Technology support standard UDP and TCP protocols the
WinSock
can also be used to build applications that communicate with and control the DS100 and EM100.
This
Tutorial
provides step-by-step instructions on using
VB
to create three rudimentary programs
(called “
WinSock Demos
”) that communicate with and program the DS100/EM100 over the network. The
Demos
are not a complete fully-functional programs but rather a “templates” that show you the basic steps
of building your own applications with the
WinSock
. Complete
VB
projects for each
WinSock Demo
(packed
into a ZIP archives and named “
WinSock Demo Step1
”, “
WinSock Demo Step2
”, and “
WinSock Demo
Step3
”.) can be downloaded from
1.2. Required
tools
•
DS100 Serial Device Server or EM100SK Starter Kit
•
WAS-1455 or similar serial cable to connect the DS100/EM100 to the PC*
•
WAS-1498 or WAS-1499 Ethernet cable may be needed to connect the DS100/EM100 to the LAN*
•
Power adaptor (220V or 120V depending on your locality)*
•
Windows
PC with one unused Serial port and an Ethernet port
•
Visual Basic 6.0
from
Microsoft
•
HyperTerminal
for
Windows
(part of a standard
Windows
distribution)
*
These accessories are supplied with the DS100-KIT and EM100SK Products.