This is an Internet protocol suite Java library originally
developed by ORO, Inc. This version supports Finger, Whois,
TFTP, Telnet, POP3, FTP, NNTP, SMTP, and some miscellaneous
protocols like Time and Echo as well as BSD R command support.
The purpose of the library is to provide fundamental protocol
access, not higher-level abstractions. Therefore, some of the
design violates object-oriented design principles. Our philosophy
is to make the global functionality of a protocal accesible (e.g.,
TFTP send file and receive file) when possible, but also provide
access to the fundamental protocols where applicable so that the
programmer may construct his own custom implementations (e.g, the
TFTP packet classes and the TFTP packet send and receive methods
are exposed). NetComponents was originally a commercial product,
but after ORO dissolved, it was continued to be made available for
those who found it useful. However, no updates have been made since
version 1.3.8, released in 1998. Now that certain contract obligations
have expired, it is possible to make the source code freely available
under the The Apache Software License.
