.NET Library > System.Net.Sockets > Socket.Receive

Socket.Receive Method

Receives data from a connected Socket into a receive buffer.

Syntax

public int Receive(byte[] buffer);

Parameters

Returns

Exceptions

Remarks

The Receive method reads up to buffer.Length bytes from the socket into the buffer. If no data is available, the Receive method will block until data is available. If the remote host shuts down the Socket connection, and all available data has been received, the Receive method will complete immediately and return zero bytes. If you are using a connection-oriented stream, you may need to call Receive more than once to receive all of the data. You can determine how many bytes are available to be read without blocking by using the Available property.

Examples

The following code example demonstrates how to use the Receive method.

using System;
using System.Net;
using System.Net.Sockets;
using System.Text;

public class Example
{
    public static void ReceiveData(Socket socket)
    {
        try
        {
            byte[] buffer = new byte[1024];
            int bytesReceived = socket.Receive(buffer);

            if (bytesReceived > 0)
            {
                string receivedString = Encoding.ASCII.GetString(buffer, 0, bytesReceived);
                Console.WriteLine($"Received: {receivedString}");
            }
            else
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Connection closed by remote host.");
            }
        }
        catch (SocketException ex)
        {
            Console.WriteLine($"SocketException: {ex.Message}");
        }
        catch (ObjectDisposedException)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Socket has been disposed.");
        }
    }

    // Example usage (simplified, assumes socket is connected)
    public static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        // This is a placeholder for demonstration.
        // In a real application, you would create and connect the socket.
        // For instance:
        // Socket listener = new Socket(AddressFamily.InterNetwork, SocketType.Stream, ProtocolType.Tcp);
        // listener.Bind(new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Any, 1111));
        // listener.Listen(10);
        // Socket handler = listener.Accept();
        // ReceiveData(handler);
        // handler.Close();
        // listener.Close();

        Console.WriteLine("Example usage requires a connected socket. This is a conceptual demonstration.");
    }
}
        

Requirements