# Opening a network connection **URL:** \ **Category:** Community Support\ **Tags:** kdb-and-q\ **Created:** [May 3, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://forum.kx.com/t/opening-a-network-connection/8238 "2013-05-03T02:05:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Victor\_Wong1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b77776/32.png) [@Victor\_Wong1](https://forum.kx.com/u/Victor_Wong1)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://forum.kx.com/t/opening-a-network-connection/8238/1 "2013-05-03T02:05:00Z")
I understand that hopen opens either a file or an IPC connection to another kdb process.  Is there any way to open a simple character connection to a network host, ala telnet?  I also saw that one could use the following syntax: `:[http://hostname](http://hostname) “GET x” to open a character connection and retrieve a response (in this case HTML from a HTTP server), but I don’t know if there is a different syntax to keep the connection open?  I am trying to open a session with a server that speaks a simple textual protocol and would prefer to do it in q. Thanks in advance, Victor ---
**Author:** ![Victor\_Wong1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b77776/32.png) [@Victor\_Wong1](https://forum.kx.com/u/Victor_Wong1)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 5:40am UTC](https://forum.kx.com/t/opening-a-network-connection/8238/2 "2013-05-03T05:40:00Z")
Thanks, John.  I am actually not trying to connect to another kdb process, but to a server that uses a textual protocol, like HTTP or SMTP (for example).  Conceptually, it’s basically the same as sending strings synchronously back and forth like in your example, except without the serialization. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Hamilton1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/82dd89/32.png) [@Ryan\_Hamilton1](https://forum.kx.com/u/Ryan_Hamilton1)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 11:11am UTC](https://forum.kx.com/t/opening-a-network-connection/8238/3 "2013-05-03T11:11:00Z")
Hi Victor, I think your only option for a constantly open connection is to extend kdb with some C code. The rserve code allows connecting and sending text commands to an R server from within q, it may be useful to look at. http://code.kx.com/wsvn/code/cookbook\_code/r/rserve/ If you just wanted to synchronously download some data, you could use a command line tool from within q to download it to file, then read the file. Regards, Ryan On 5/3/2013 5:40 AM, Victor Wong wrote: > Thanks, John.  I am actually not trying to connect to another kdb process, but to a server that uses a textual protocol, like HTTP or SMTP (for example).  Conceptually, it’s basically the same as sending strings synchronously back and forth like in your example, except without the serialization. > > On Thursday, May 2, 2013 6:13:47 PM UTC-7, John Dempster wrote: > > > You can send strings of commands using the handle hopen returns. > > > > See the IPC example video here http://www.timestored.com/kdb-guides/interprocess-communication > > > > ~JD > > > > On Friday, May 3, 2013 2:05:51 AM UTC+1, Victor Wong wrote: > > > > > I understand that hopen opens either a file or an IPC connection to another kdb process.  Is there any way to open a simple character connection to a network host, ala telnet?  I also saw that one could use the following syntax: `:http://hostname “GET x” to open a character connection and retrieve a response (in this case HTML from a HTTP server), but I don’t know if there is a different syntax to keep the connection open?  I am trying to open a session with a server that speaks a simple textual protocol and would prefer to do it in q. > > > > > > Thanks in advance, > > > > > > Victor > > – > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Kdb+ Personal Developers” group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to personal-kdbplus+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to personal-kdbplus@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/personal-kdbplus?hl=en. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out. >   >   ``` -- ``` [TimeStored.com](http://TimeStored.com) - KDB+ Training, Consulting, Software ---
**Author:** ![WooiKent\_Lee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5f8ce5/32.png) [@WooiKent\_Lee](https://forum.kx.com/u/WooiKent_Lee)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 1:23pm UTC](https://forum.kx.com/t/opening-a-network-connection/8238/4 "2013-05-03T13:23:00Z")
You can look about here: http://code.kx.com/wsvn/code/contrib/rpairceir/KDB%20TCP/?#af1754533edd3a736885f54cb836c52b3 Just a simple code where a C based TCP data feeder sending random strings to a q session. Hopefully it can help you though.