NetworkStream Class
Provides the underlying stream of data for network access.
Assembly: System (in System.dll)
The NetworkStream type exposes the following members.
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
![]() | NetworkStream(Socket) | Creates a new instance of the NetworkStream class for the specified Socket. |
![]() | NetworkStream(Socket, Boolean) | Initializes a new instance of the NetworkStream class for the specified Socket with the specified Socket ownership. |
![]() | NetworkStream(Socket, FileAccess) | Creates a new instance of the NetworkStream class for the specified Socket with the specified access rights. |
![]() | NetworkStream(Socket, FileAccess, Boolean) | Creates a new instance of the NetworkStream class for the specified Socket with the specified access rights and the specified Socket ownership. |
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
![]() | CanRead | Gets a value that indicates whether the NetworkStream supports reading. (Overrides Stream.CanRead.) |
![]() | CanSeek | Gets a value that indicates whether the stream supports seeking. This property is not currently supported.This property always returns false. (Overrides Stream.CanSeek.) |
![]() | CanTimeout | Indicates whether timeout properties are usable for NetworkStream. (Overrides Stream.CanTimeout.) |
![]() | CanWrite | Gets a value that indicates whether the NetworkStream supports writing. (Overrides Stream.CanWrite.) |
![]() | DataAvailable | Gets a value that indicates whether data is available on the NetworkStream to be read. |
![]() | Length | Gets the length of the data available on the stream. This property is not currently supported and always throws a NotSupportedException. (Overrides Stream.Length.) |
![]() | Position | Gets or sets the current position in the stream. This property is not currently supported and always throws a NotSupportedException. (Overrides Stream.Position.) |
![]() | Readable | Gets or sets a value that indicates whether the NetworkStream can be read. |
![]() | ReadTimeout | Gets or sets the amount of time that a read operation blocks waiting for data. (Overrides Stream.ReadTimeout.) |
![]() | Socket | Gets the underlying Socket. |
![]() | Writeable | Gets a value that indicates whether the NetworkStream is writable. |
![]() | WriteTimeout | Gets or sets the amount of time that a write operation blocks waiting for data. (Overrides Stream.WriteTimeout.) |
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
![]() | BeginRead | Begins an asynchronous read from the NetworkStream. (Overrides Stream.BeginRead(Byte(), Int32, Int32, AsyncCallback, Object).) |
![]() | BeginWrite | Begins an asynchronous write to a stream. (Overrides Stream.BeginWrite(Byte(), Int32, Int32, AsyncCallback, Object).) |
![]() | Close | Closes the current stream and releases any resources (such as sockets and file handles) associated with the current stream. (Inherited from Stream.) |
![]() | Close(Int32) | Closes the NetworkStream after waiting the specified time to allow data to be sent. |
![]() | CopyTo(Stream) | Reads the bytes from the current stream and writes them to the destination stream. (Inherited from Stream.) |
![]() | CopyTo(Stream, Int32) | Reads all the bytes from the current stream and writes them to a destination stream, using a specified buffer size. (Inherited from Stream.) |
![]() | CreateObjRef | Creates an object that contains all the relevant information required to generate a proxy used to communicate with a remote object. (Inherited from MarshalByRefObject.) |
![]() | CreateWaitHandle | Obsolete. Allocates a WaitHandle object. (Inherited from Stream.) |
![]() | Dispose | Releases all resources used by the Stream. (Inherited from Stream.) |
![]() | Dispose(Boolean) | Releases the unmanaged resources used by the NetworkStream and optionally releases the managed resources. (Overrides Stream.Dispose(Boolean).) |
![]() | EndRead | Handles the end of an asynchronous read. (Overrides Stream.EndRead(IAsyncResult).) |
![]() | EndWrite | Handles the end of an asynchronous write. (Overrides Stream.EndWrite(IAsyncResult).) |
![]() | Equals(Object) | Determines whether the specified Object is equal to the current Object. (Inherited from Object.) |
![]() | Finalize | Releases all resources used by the NetworkStream. (Overrides Object.Finalize.) |
![]() | Flush | Flushes data from the stream. This method is reserved for future use. (Overrides Stream.Flush.) |
![]() | GetHashCode | Serves as a hash function for a particular type. (Inherited from Object.) |
![]() | GetLifetimeService | Retrieves the current lifetime service object that controls the lifetime policy for this instance. (Inherited from MarshalByRefObject.) |
![]() | GetType | Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object.) |
![]() | InitializeLifetimeService | Obtains a lifetime service object to control the lifetime policy for this instance. (Inherited from MarshalByRefObject.) |
![]() | MemberwiseClone | Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object.) |
![]() | MemberwiseClone(Boolean) | Creates a shallow copy of the current MarshalByRefObject object. (Inherited from MarshalByRefObject.) |
![]() | ObjectInvariant | Infrastructure. Provides support for a Contract. (Inherited from Stream.) |
![]() | Read | Reads data from the NetworkStream. (Overrides Stream.Read(Byte(), Int32, Int32).) |
![]() | ReadByte | Reads a byte from the stream and advances the position within the stream by one byte, or returns -1 if at the end of the stream. (Inherited from Stream.) |
![]() | Seek | Sets the current position of the stream to the given value. This method is not currently supported and always throws a NotSupportedException. (Overrides Stream.Seek(Int64, SeekOrigin).) |
![]() | SetLength | Sets the length of the stream. This method always throws a NotSupportedException. (Overrides Stream.SetLength(Int64).) |
![]() | ToString | Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object.) |
![]() | Write | Writes data to the NetworkStream. (Overrides Stream.Write(Byte(), Int32, Int32).) |
![]() | WriteByte | Writes a byte to the current position in the stream and advances the position within the stream by one byte. (Inherited from Stream.) |
The NetworkStream class provides methods for sending and receiving data over Stream sockets in blocking mode. For more information about blocking versus nonblocking Sockets, see Using an Asynchronous Client Socket. You can use the NetworkStream class for both synchronous and asynchronous data transfer. For more information about synchronous and asynchronous communication, see Sockets.
To create a NetworkStream, you must provide a connected Socket. You can also specify what FileAccess permission the NetworkStream has over the provided Socket. By default, closing the NetworkStream does not close the provided Socket. If you want the NetworkStream to have permission to close the provided Socket, you must specify true for the value of the ownsSocket parameter.
Use the Write and Read methods for simple single thread synchronous blocking I/O. If you want to process your I/O using separate threads, consider using the BeginWrite and EndWrite methods, or the BeginRead and EndRead methods for communication.
The NetworkStream does not support random access to the network data stream. The value of the CanSeek property, which indicates whether the stream supports seeking, is always false; reading the Position property, reading the Length property, or calling the Seek method will throw a NotSupportedException.
Read and write operations can be performed simultaneously on an instance of the NetworkStream class without the need for synchronization. As long as there is one unique thread for the write operations and one unique thread for the read operations, there will be no cross-interference between read and write threads and no synchronization is required.
The following code example demonstrates how to create a NetworkStream from a connected Stream Socket and perform basic synchronous blocking I/O.
' Examples for constructors that do not specify file permission. ' Create the NetworkStream for communicating with the remote host. Dim myNetworkStream As NetworkStream If networkStreamOwnsSocket Then myNetworkStream = New NetworkStream(mySocket, True) Else myNetworkStream = New NetworkStream(mySocket) End If
Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2
The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
