5. Softnet as a software network

Softnet is all about client-service interaction. We use the terms Service and Client to refer to the software representation of a networked device and a client that communicates with devices, respectively. The name Softnet itself comes from the words software network. Softnet defines Service Endpoint as an abstraction that enables service applications to employ network functionality, while Client Endpoint is an abstraction defined for client applications for the same purpose. An application instantiates the ServiceEndpoint class to create a service endpoint. And to create a client endpoint, an application instantiates one of the following two classes: ClientEndpoint or ClientSEndpoint. The first one implements a client endpoint to interact with multiple services of the same type. It is called a multi-service client endpoint. In turn, ClientSEndpoint implements a client endpoint to interact with a single service. It is called a single-service client endpoint. In fact, the core API of the platform is provided by these three classes.