Windows Sockets 2 library

E724289

Windows API component networking API programming interface software library

The Windows Sockets 2 library is a core Microsoft Windows API component that provides standardized network communication functions for TCP/IP and other protocols used by Windows applications.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (12)

Label	Occurrences
Winsock 2	7
Windows Sockets 2 API	2
Winsock 2 specification	2
Winsock 2.0 API	2
Winsock2	2
Winsock2.h	2
winsock2.h	2
Windows Sockets 2 API reference	1
Windows Sockets 2 library canonical	1
Winsock	1
Winsock API	1
Winsock2 library	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T8288381 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Windows Sockets 2 library
Context triple: [Ws2_32, fullName, Windows Sockets 2 library]

A. Win32 API
Win32 API is Microsoft's core programming interface for developing native desktop applications that interact directly with the Windows operating system.
B. SCTP
SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol) is a transport-layer network protocol designed to provide reliable, message-oriented communication with features like multi-streaming and multi-homing, often used for signaling and real-time data transmission.
C. Windows SDK
Windows SDK is Microsoft's official collection of tools, headers, libraries, and documentation used by developers to build applications for the Windows operating system.
D. WinPcap
WinPcap is a Windows packet capture and network monitoring library that provides low-level network access for tools like Wireshark.
E. NetBIOS API
The NetBIOS API is a legacy network programming interface that allows applications to communicate over local area networks using NetBIOS services for name resolution and session management.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Windows Sockets 2 library
Target entity description: The Windows Sockets 2 library is a core Microsoft Windows API component that provides standardized network communication functions for TCP/IP and other protocols used by Windows applications.

A. Win32 API
Win32 API is Microsoft's core programming interface for developing native desktop applications that interact directly with the Windows operating system.
B. SCTP
SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol) is a transport-layer network protocol designed to provide reliable, message-oriented communication with features like multi-streaming and multi-homing, often used for signaling and real-time data transmission.
C. Windows SDK
Windows SDK is Microsoft's official collection of tools, headers, libraries, and documentation used by developers to build applications for the Windows operating system.
D. WinPcap
WinPcap is a Windows packet capture and network monitoring library that provides low-level network access for tools like Wireshark.
E. NetBIOS API
The NetBIOS API is a legacy network programming interface that allows applications to communicate over local area networks using NetBIOS services for name resolution and session management.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (69)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Windows API component ⓘ networking API ⓘ programming interface ⓘ software library ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Winsock 2 ⓘ linked to: Windows Sockets 2 library
backwardCompatibleWith	Windows Sockets 1.1 ⓘ linked to: Winsock 1.1 API
cleanupFunction	WSACleanup ⓘ
compatibleWith	Windows 10 ⓘ Windows 11 ⓘ Windows 2000 ⓘ Windows 7 ⓘ Windows 8 ⓘ Windows 95 ⓘ Windows 98 ⓘ Windows NT 4.0 ⓘ linked to: Windows NT Windows Vista ⓘ Windows XP ⓘ
coreFunction	WSAEventSelect ⓘ WSAIoctl ⓘ WSARecv ⓘ WSASend ⓘ accept ⓘ bind ⓘ closesocket ⓘ connect ⓘ listen ⓘ recv ⓘ select ⓘ send ⓘ socket ⓘ
developer	Microsoft ⓘ
documentedIn	Microsoft Win32 API documentation ⓘ linked to: Win32 API
exposesHeader	winsock2.h ⓘ linked to: Windows Sockets 2 library
extends	Berkeley sockets API ⓘ linked to: BSD sockets API
follows	Windows Sockets 1.1 ⓘ linked to: Winsock 1.1 API
initializationFunction	WSAStartup ⓘ linked to: WSAEventSelect
operatingSystem	Microsoft Windows ⓘ linked to: Windows
partOf	Windows networking stack ⓘ linked to: Windows Filtering Platform
providesDLL	Ws2_32.dll ⓘ
providesFunctionality	asynchronous I/O ⓘ event-based network notification ⓘ multicast support ⓘ name resolution APIs ⓘ overlapped I/O ⓘ quality of service support ⓘ raw socket access ⓘ service provider interface ⓘ socket-based programming interface ⓘ standardized network communication ⓘ
replaces	Windows Sockets 1.1 ⓘ linked to: Winsock 1.1 API
requiresLibrary	Ws2_32.lib ⓘ linked to: Ws2_32
standardizes	network programming interface for Windows applications ⓘ
supportsFeature	QoS parameters on sockets ⓘ event objects for network events ⓘ layered service providers ⓘ name space providers ⓘ overlapped sockets ⓘ service provider interface (SPI) ⓘ
supportsProtocolFamily	ATM ⓘ Bluetooth ⓘ IPX/SPX ⓘ IPv4 ⓘ IPv6 ⓘ Infrared ⓘ TCP/IP ⓘ
usedBy	Windows desktop applications ⓘ linked to: Windows Windows server applications ⓘ games on Windows ⓘ network utilities on Windows ⓘ

How these facts were elicited