Chapter     14

Networking, The Nerdy Kind

You might use (social) networking to crowd-source the perfect color for your bookshelves or find a great place to stay on your next trip, but “networking” means something altogether different to computer engineers. A data network allows computer systems and devices to directly exchange information, and is largely what makes portable devices useful. (How sad would your iPhone be if it couldn’t place telephone calls, get text messages, surf the web, send e-mail, or download apps?)

The goal of this chapter is to introduce you to some simple peer-to-peer networking. “Simple” and “peer-to-peer networking” are words you don’t often see together. Networking is tricky. Peer-to-peer networking is downright thorny. ...

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