reading data from tcp sockets

[Moore]

hi

im working in a C code and unix environment.
and currently reading up on tcp/ip and socket programming.

Can anyone recommend good article/section of book specifically dealing with constantly monitoring sockets for data arrival.
what is best, most efficient approach(s) to consider?
I guess a basic idea is to start a timer and check the socket for data on every expiration.

Is there more advanced approaches - like i/o signal or interrupts that I should also consider.

Pointers appreciated as there is loads of material out there so a short cut would be great.
thanks.

[ahoodin]

If your using UNIX I suggest:

The Pocket Guide to
TCP/IP Sockets: C Version
Michael J. Donahoo
Kenneth L. Calvert

Has short concise sections on how to do this.
http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Sockets.../dp/1558606866

Here is the source code:
http://cs.ecs.baylor.edu/~donahoo/pr.../textcode.html

A multi-threaded approach will use up less memory than a multi-process fork() loop.