Creates a pair of indistinguishable sockets and stores them in an array

socket_create_listen
socket_create
Socket Functions
PHP Manual

# socket_create_pair

(PHP 4 >= 4.1.0, PHP 5)

socket_create_pair — Creates a pair of indistinguishable sockets and stores them in an array

### Description

bool socket_create_pair ( int `$domain` , int `$type` , int `$protocol` , array `&$fd` )

socket_create_pair() creates two connected and indistinguishable sockets, and stores them in `fd`. This function is commonly used in IPC (InterProcess Communication).

### Parameters

`domain`

  The `domain` parameter specifies the protocol family to be used by the socket. See socket_create() for the full list.

`type`

  The `type` parameter selects the type of communication to be used by the socket. See socket_create() for the full list.

`protocol`

  The `protocol` parameter sets the specific protocol within the specified `domain` to be used when communicating on the returned socket. The proper value can be retrieved by name by using getprotobyname(). If the desired protocol is TCP, or UDP the corresponding constants `SOL_TCP`, and `SOL_UDP` can also be used.

  See socket_create() for the full list of supported protocols.

`fd`

  Reference to an array in which the two socket resources will be inserted.

### Return Values

Returns `TRUE` on success or `FALSE` on failure.

### Changelog

Version | Description
--- | ---
5.3.0 | This function is now re-enabled on Windows platforms.
4.3.0 | This function was due to a bug made unavailable on Windows platforms.

### Examples

Example #1 socket_create_pair() example

`<?php
$sockets = array();
/* On Windows we need to use AF_INET */
$domain = (strtoupper(substr(PHP_OS, 0, 3)) == 'WIN' ? AF_INET : AF_UNIX);
/* Setup socket pair */
if (socket_create_pair($domain, SOCK_STREAM, 0, $sockets) === false) {
echo "socket_create_pair failed. Reason: ".socket_strerror(socket_last_error());
}
/* Send and Recieve Data */
if (socket_write($sockets[0], "ABCdef123\n", strlen("ABCdef123\n")) === false) {
echo "socket_write() failed. Reason: ".socket_strerror(socket_last_error($sockets[0]));
}
if (($data = socket_read($sockets[1], strlen("ABCdef123\n"), PHP_BINARY_READ)) === false) {
echo "socket_read() failed. Reason: ".socket_strerror(socket_last_error($sockets[1]));
}
var_dump($data);
/* Close sockets */
socket_close($sockets[0]);
socket_close($sockets[1]);
?>`

Example #2 socket_create_pair() IPC example

`<?php
$ary = array();
$strone = 'Message From Parent.';
$strtwo = 'Message From Child.';
if (socket_create_pair(AF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0, $ary) === false) {
echo "socket_create_pair() failed. Reason: ".socket_strerror(socket_last_error());
}
$pid = pcntl_fork();
if ($pid == -1) {
echo 'Could not fork Process.';
} elseif ($pid) {
/*parent*/
socket_close($ary[0]);
if (socket_write($ary[1], $strone, strlen($strone)) === false) {
echo "socket_write() failed. Reason: ".socket_strerror(socket_last_error($ary[1]));
}
if (socket_read($ary[1], strlen($strtwo), PHP_BINARY_READ) == $strtwo) {
echo "Recieved $strtwo\n";
}
socket_close($ary[1]);
} else {
/*child*/
socket_close($ary[1]);
if (socket_write($ary[0], $strtwo, strlen($strtwo)) === false) {
echo "socket_write() failed. Reason: ".socket_strerror(socket_last_error($ary[0]));
}
if (socket_read($ary[0], strlen($strone), PHP_BINARY_READ) == $strone) {
echo "Recieved $strone\n";
}
socket_close($ary[0]);
}
?>`

### See Also

- socket_create() - Create a socket (endpoint for communication)
- socket_create_listen() - Opens a socket on port to accept connections
- socket_bind() - Binds a name to a socket
- socket_listen() - Listens for a connection on a socket
- socket_last_error() - Returns the last error on the socket
- socket_strerror() - Return a string describing a socket error

socket_create_listen
socket_create
Socket Functions
PHP Manual