StringBuilder mySb = new StringBuilder(“1234567890”);
//the length is 10 and the value is “1234567890”
mySb.Length = 7;
//the length is 7 and the value is “1234567”
mySb.Length = 10
//the length is 10 and the value is “1234567”

When you manually decrease the length you also reduce size of the memory allocation and the extra values are dropped off. When you increase it the unused portion of the larger memory is filled with empty values. In the example above remember you have not created a string, just a StringBuilder object. When you want to turn it into a string you call the ToString() method as in this example.

myLabel.Text = mySb.ToString();

C# stream manipulation is also easier and more elegant than it was in C or C++. Streams include client server communications as well as communication with hardware or logical devices. Depending on the type of stream you are accessing, there are three basic functions. You can write data from a memory buffer to a stream, you can read data from a stream and you can ‘seek’, or search for, a specific pattern of data in a stream.

Winsock is Microsoft’s stream communication API. Winsock defines a standard service provider interface (SPI) between the application programming interfaces (API), which include header and library files in an SDK or DLLs (Winsock DLL, Ws2.dll) and the protocol stacks. Winsock supports multiple protocols including IPv6. The Winsock SPI can be used to create your own transport service provider or to extend an existing transport SPI by using a Layered Service Provider (LSP).

Microsoft’s has done a good job of making Winsock API calls backwards compatible and minimizing versions. But there are differences which you should be aware of. Every version of Windows after Windows 95 has used Winsock version 2.2. Patched Windows 95 boxes should be running 2.0. In most cases the techniques here should work fine. However, Windows 95 originally shipped with version 1.0 and, only recently, Windows CE was upgraded from version 1.1 to version 2.2. So if you are planning to deploy on Windows 95 or CE, be prepared for some extra research and testing.

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