Java and sockets help

I want to write something like an IRC or chat client in Java (using the ASCII protocol).

Should I be using a BufferedReader of an InputStream of a Socket to read data?

The main reason why i don't know how to send data through a socket is because i dont know how to send bytes or words with Java. Can someone provide an example please?

The Java Tutorial happens to have a few examples: http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutor...ing/index.html

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Originally Posted by cma

The Java Tutorial happens to have a few examples: http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutor...ing/index.html

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Thanks, those are helpful, but i can't seem to find or google any examples of bytes/words/dwords sending in Java. Are there any handy tutorials lying around for that?

There are a few old forum posts that deals with transferring data over sockets, such as: http://www.codeguru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=283663

Transferring data over a network is not that much different from reading/writitng data to a file.