Lol... let the guy start small.
Yes, you can go into the very complex quickly if you want to use various sites. However, you can usually manage to get information with little effort from a majority of sites.
Examples:
- Looking for dictionary definitions? dictionary.com uses large lines, so unless you know how to work with them, you don't want to deal with them. So, you choose another site that doesn't use long lines and still gives good definitions. I ended up choosing another site just because I really didn't feel like messing with dictionary.com and I ended up with much nicer results in the process.
- Trying to get weather? Many sites give long lines or require you to go through an intermediary page to access the final data. Some also have VERY large pages due to all the extra stuff that you don't care about. Yes, you can use the more advanced sockets concepts to handle this, but why bother? There are many other weather sites out there that can give just as nice of information without the effort.
Now, I agree that sometimes you do need to use a site that isn't nicely formatted. Sometimes there is no choice. So, you then have to use/learn the more advanced socketing techniques. My whole point before was that you CAN get by with very simple socketing in perhaps 90% of what you might want to use sockets for. Well... that percentage would vary considerably depending on the scripter... some need to use specific data from specific sites, or need to post data often, or use sites that require cookies often, or use sites that require logging in. But, I'd say that the majority of scripters can look around for "easy" sites that fit their needs and then can use a basic socket script similar to what you posted.
I just want him to understand that you CAN learn the basics without too much difficulty. And, in many cases, that's all you need. Afterwards, he can advance in his knowledge. After reading your post, I have a feeling that anyone considering taking time to learn sockets may choose not to because your post makes it sound daunting, if not impossible.
