Python Institute Exam PCPP-32-101 Topic 5 Question 18 Discussion

1. A socket is a connection point that enables a two-way communication between programs running in a network.

This statement is true because a socket is a software structure that serves as an endpoint for sending and receiving data across a network. A socket is defined by an application programming interface (API) for the networking architecture, such as TCP/IP.A socket can be used to establish a communication channel between two programs running on the same or different network nodes12.

2. A socket is always the secure means by which computers on a network can safely communicate, without the risk of exposure to an attack.

This statement is false because a socket by itself does not provide any security or encryption for the data transmitted over the network. A socket can be vulnerable to various types of attacks, such as eavesdropping, spoofing, hijacking, or denial-of-service.To ensure secure communication, a socket can use additional protocols or mechanisms, such as SSL/TLS, SSH, VPN, or firewall3.

3. A socket is a connection point that enables a one-way communication only between remote processes.

This statement is false because a socket can enable both one-way and two-way communication between processes running on the same or different network nodes. A socket can be used for connection-oriented or connectionless communication, depending on the type of protocol used.For example, TCP is a connection-oriented protocol that provides reliable and bidirectional data transfer, while UDP is a connectionless protocol that provides unreliable and unidirectional data transfer12.

4. A socket can be used to establish a communication endpoint for processes running on the same or different machines.

This statement is true because a socket can be used for inter-process communication (IPC) within a single machine or across different machines on a network.A socket can use different types of addresses to identify the processes involved in the communication, such as IP address and port number for network sockets, or file name or path for Unix domain sockets12.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_socket2: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/socket-in-computer-network/3: https://www.tutorialspoint.com/what-is-a-network-socket-computer-networks