Introduction

The programming examples that I have described in Chapter 2 cover generic network functions that will work with any Windows-compatible network operating system. In all the cases, it is Windows that carries out the low-level calls to the network client shell, protecting the user from the worst of assembly-language routines.

In Chapter 3, I also described a number of functions that are specific to the Microsoft LAN Manager/Windows NTAS network operating system. These are useful when requesting information about domain names and user groups both LAN Manager-specific features. However, the world has more network operating systems than just Microsoft software!

In this chapter, I cover the ways of programming for the Novell NetWare network operating system and NetBIOS protocols. The NetWare environment has a very rich set of functions that can be used with or instead of the generic Windows network functions described in Chapter 2.

Developing for Novell NetWare

The Novell NetWare network operating system (NOS) is a very powerful application that provides file and print sharing, client-server platform support and one of the best global naming services around. For basic network functionality with NetWare, you can use the generic network functions described in Chapter 2. However, NetWare has a very rich set of function calls far more sophisticated and varied than those supplied by the LAN Manager NOS. The problem for VB developers is that NetWare calls are not featured as part of the Windows client operating system, so it takes a little extra effort...