Communication Over a Network
Communication Over a Network
The Macintosh Operating System provides many routines to support
applications communicating and sharing data across a network. You can send
events between applications located on different computers using the
Event Manager or Apple Event Manager, and read and write low-level
message blocks using the PPC Toolbox. You can send and retrieve information
from a remote database or other data sources using the
Data Access Manager. You can share data and files between applications on
different computers using file sharing, the Edition Manager, and the
Alias Manager.
In addition, you can use the network and communication services provided by
the AppleTalk Manager or Communications Toolbox. The
AppleTalk Manager provides routines your application can use to send and
receive information over an AppleTalk network.
The AppleTalk Manager in System 7.0 supports various link access
protocols (for example, the LocalTalk Link Access Protocol and the EtherTalk
Link Access Protocol) that can be used for AppleTalk communication. Your
application can also use a new protocol, the AppleTalk Data Stream Protocol
(ADSP), to exchange information between two equal entities. Either end of an
ADSP connection can send data at any time. You can use ADSP to establish
two-way communication between computers-for example, for use in office
conferencing. See the AppleTalk Manager for information on the device
drivers and protocols associated with AppleTalk.
The Communications Toolbox provides your application with a standard
interface for various communication services (such as data connections, file
transfer, and terminal emulation) that are often used with a modem, other
serial connections, or over an AppleTalk network. See Macintosh
Communications Toolbox Reference Guide (available from APDA) for additional
information on the routines provided by the
Communications Toolbox.