In this chapter, we will review the fundamentals of computer networking. We'll look at abstract models that attempt to explain the main concerns of networking, and we'll explain the operation of the primary network protocol, the Internet Protocol. We'll look at address families and end with writing programs to list your computer's local IP addresses.

The following topics are covered in this chapter:

• Network programming and C
• OSI layer model
• TCP/IP reference model
• The Internet Protocol
• IPv4 addresses and IPv6 addresses
• Domain names
• Internet protocol routing
• Network address translation
• The client-server paradigm
• Listing your IP addresses programmatically from C