Using methods on the socket object, an ABL application can write and read any available data on a socket at any time, as long as the socket connection is active. Thus, the application can detect the arrival of data using events or not, depending on application requirements.

Both socket and server socket handles provide a variety of additional methods and attributes that you can use to monitor and control socket communications. For example, you can temporarily disable events on a socket object to run more efficiently when a client or server does not need to receive data on the connection. You can also temporarily or permanently disable events on a server socket when you no longer want the server to respond to client connection requests. Other methods and attributes allow you to set and monitor additional socket communications options and conditions.