A socket represents a single connection between two network applications. These two applications nominally run on different computers, but sockets can also be used for interprocess communication on a single computer. Applications can create multiple sockets for communicating with each other. Sockets are bidirectional, meaning that either side of the connection is capable of both sending and receiving data. Therefore a socket can be created theoretically at any level of the OSI model from 2 upwards. Programmers often use sockets in network programming, albeit indirectly. Programming libraries like Winsock hide many of the low-level details of socket programming. Sockets have been in widespread use since the early 1980s.

端口表示网络通信的端点或“通道”。端口号允许同一计算机上的不同应用程序在不相互干扰的情况下利用网络资源。端口号最常出现在网络编程中，尤其是套接字编程中。但是，有时端口号对普通用户是可见的。例如，一个人在因特网上访问的一些网站使用如下URL:

http://www.mairie-metz.fr:8080/在本例中，数字8080指Web浏览器连接到Web服务器所使用的端口号。通常，Web站点使用端口号80，该端口号不需要包含在URL中(尽管可以包含)。

在IP组网中，端口号理论上可以在0到65535之间。但是，大多数流行的网络应用程序使用范围较低的端口号(例如HTTP的80)。

注意:术语端口还指网络技术的其他几个方面。端口可以指外部设备的物理连接点，如串口、并口和USB端口。术语端口也指某些以太网连接点，例如集线器、交换机或路由器上的连接点。

ref http://compnetworking.about.com/od/basicnetworkingconcepts/l/bldef_port.htm

ref http://compnetworking.about.com/od/itinformationtechnology/l/bldef_socket.htm

套接字地址是一个IP地址和端口号

123.132.213.231         # IP address
               :1234    # port number
123.132.213.231:1234    # socket address

当两个套接字绑定在一起时，就发生了连接。

I know that there are lot of explanations. But, there is one more easy way to understand with practical example. We all can connect to HTTP port 80, but does it mean only one user can connect to that port at a time?. The answer is obviously 'no'. Multiple users for multiple purposes can access HTTP port 80 but they still get proper response they are waiting for, from the server, can't they?. Now think about it for a minute, how?. Yes you are correct, its IP address that uniquely identifies different users who contacts for different purposes. If you would have read the previous answers before reaching here, you would know that IP address is a part of information that socket consists. Think about it, is it possible to have a communication without sockets?. The answer is 'Yes' but you cannot run more than one application in a port but we know that we are not a 'Dump' switch that runs on just hardware.

套接字是一种特殊类型的文件句柄，进程使用它从操作系统请求网络服务。 套接字地址是三元组: {protocol, local-address, local-process}，其中本地进程由端口号标识。

在TCP/IP套件中，例如:

{tcp, 193.44.234.3, 12345}

会话是两个进程之间的通信链接，从而描述了两者之间的关联。 关联是一个5元组，它完全指定了组成连接的两个进程: {protocol, local-address, local-process, foreign-address, foreign-process}

在TCP/IP套件中，例如:

{tcp, 193.44.234.3, 1500, 193.44.234.5, 21}

可能是一个有效的关联。

半关联是: {protocol, local-address, local-process}

or

{protocol, foreign-address, foreign-process}

它们指定连接的每一半。

半关联也称为套接字或传输地址。也就是说，套接字是可以在网络中命名和寻址的通信端点。 套接字接口是通信协议的几个应用程序编程接口(api)之一。它被设计为一个通用的通信编程接口，最初由4.2BSD UNIX系统引入。虽然还没有标准化，但已经成为事实上的行业标准。

套接字基本上是网络通信的端点，至少由一个ip地址和一个端口组成。在Java/ c#中，套接字是双向连接一侧的高级实现。

还有Java教程中的一个(非规范的)定义。

它们是来自两个不同领域的术语:“端口”是TCP/IP网络的概念，“套接字”是API(编程)的东西。“套接字”是通过将端口和主机名或网络适配器组合成一个数据结构(可以用来发送或接收数据)而形成的(在代码中)。