he function- ality described by the interface specification is the implementation of the API. This chapter gives the reader an overview of the management interface standards used in OSS/BSS development. It considers MTOSI and OSS/J for developing applications in the customer, service, and network layers of OSS/BSS. The basic concepts of these two popular interface standards are discussed without diving into the details of a specific topic. Additional Reading 1. www.tmforum.org (Latest version of the documents can be downloaded from the Web site) TMF608: MTOSI Information Agreement TMF517: MTOSI Business Agreement TMF854: MTOSI Systems Interface: XML Solution Set TMF608: MTNM Information Agreement TMF513: MTNM Business Agreement TMF814: MTNM IDL Solution Set TMF814A: MTNM Implementation Set and Guidelines OSS APIs, Roadmap, Developer Guidelines, and Procurement Guidelines 2. Software Industry Report. Sun & Leading Telecom Companies Announce Intention To Start Next Generation OSS Through Java. Washington, DC: Millin Publishing Inc., 2000. 3. Kornel Terplan. OSS Essentials: Support System Solutions for Service Providers. New York: John Wiley & Sons., 2001. 4. Dr. Christian Saxtoft. Convergence: User Expectations, Communications Enablers and Business Opportunities. New York: John Wiley & Sons., 2008. 5. John Strassner. Policy-Based Network Management: Solutions for the Next Generation. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann, 2003. IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES Chapter 26 Socket Communication This chapter is about the basics of network programming. It introduces the reader to the concept of writing client-server code. The client usually acts as the agent sourcing data to the server that listens for data from multiple clients. Out of the dif- ferent techniques that are used for client-server programming, this chapter specifi- cally deals with socket programming. Programming for TCP and UDP transport between client and server is also discussed. 26.1 Introduction To complete this book on fundamentals of EMS, NMS, and OSS/BSS, it