How do i check for an internet connection?

[Alex Tweedly]

Dave Cragg wrote:

>>>
>> Just remember - it often gets the wrong answer on some systems  (e.g. 
>> mine).
>> It believes I am always connected, even though about 50% of the  time 
>> I'm not  - because I have an in-house network (mix of Cat-5  and 
>> wifi) with an Internet connection which is *not* always connected.
>
>
> Alex, thanks as always for pointing out the limitations. 

Sorry - was I sounding like a broken record ? And a negative one at that :-(

It's just that if folks use it, and therefore wrongly think they are 
connected, then they (and perhaps I)  get poor results (like Rev 2.5's 
IDE trying to use the RevOnline check, where it would hang for 30-60 
seconds every time I tried to use it - BZ 2117, still open after 14 months).

> Can I pick  your knowledge a little further?
>
> Can the testForConnection function be assumed reliable for detecting  
> a network connection of some sort, not necessarily the internet? 

yes

> I  guess there are times when this might be sufficient.
>
I can't think of any circumstance that it is sufficient for anything 
meaningful.
If there is something it helps with, I'd be happy to hear about it.

(note you can have a "network connection" with nothing but a successful 
link status - i.e. a hub or switch, there is no certainty that any other 
computer is connected; I don't see how that is sufficient for anything).


-- 
Alex Tweedly       http://www.tweedly.net



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