In this chapter, we will be using the socket module, which is a built-in library in Python, to build our working server. The socket module is one of the modules that are most frequently used to implement low-level communication protocols, while providing intuitive options to control those protocols. In this section, we will introduce the process of implementing the underlying low-level architecture of a server, as well as the key methods and functionalities of the module that will be used in our examples later on.

Note that in order to successfully follow the examples in this chapter, you will need to install the telnet program on your system. Telnet is a program that provides terminal commands that facilitate protocols for bidirectional, interactive, text-based communication. We covered the installation of telnet in Chapter 11, Building Communication Channels with asyncio; if you do not already have Telnet installed on your system, simply navigate to (and follow the directions in) that chapter.

Note that macOS systems have a preinstalled alternative to Telnet, called Netcat. If you do not want Telnet installed on your macOS computer, simply use the command nc instead of telnet in the following examples, and you will achieve the same effect.