What is UDP socket programming in C++?

What is UDP socket programming in C++?

UDP socket programming in C++ involves using the User Datagram Protocol to send and receive data over a network. Unlike TCP, UDP is connectionless and does not guarantee delivery, making it faster but less reliable.

How do I create a UDP socket in C++?

To create a UDP socket in C++, you can use the socket() function with the SOCK_DGRAM type. Here's a simple example:

int sockfd = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM, 0);
if (sockfd < 0) {
    perror("Socket creation failed");
}

Can you show me a simple example of sending a UDP packet?

Sure! Here's a basic example of sending a UDP packet:

struct sockaddr_in serverAddr;
serverAddr.sin_family = AF_INET;
serverAddr.sin_port = htons(port);
inet_pton(AF_INET, "127.0.0.1", &serverAddr.sin_addr);

sendto(sockfd, message, strlen(message), 0, (struct sockaddr*)&serverAddr, sizeof(serverAddr));

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using UDP?

The main advantages of UDP are its speed and low latency, making it suitable for real-time applications. However, it lacks reliability, ordering, and error-checking, which can lead to data loss.