Re^2: Socket programming

[Illuminatus]

If the connection is via a WAN or the Internet, then what you are describing can occur. Within a local network, it is much less likely. This is a TCP socket. When either side receives a FIN, the result in the application is an EOF. When a process dies, in almost all instances, open sockets are closed by the OS, resulting in a FIN going to the remote side. On a LAN, the receipt of this is almost certain. On a WAN, intervening equipment/hops can cause packet or session loss.

[SuicideJunkie]

Indeed it is a rare occurrence, but in a single-threaded server, one eternal wait event is all that is required to take the system down.