Answer: I'am clear about u r context,but i would like to give my feedback on this: If u want to read data from a socket, better check the socket whether it is ready for reading (means has it got any data to read ????, then start reading, otherwise the read calls may turn out to be blocking calls) i beleive u have select() fun to check whether a socket is ready to receive,use it , confirm , start reading --------Fhani

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