> Can I TIdTCPClient.Connect, WriteLn, Disconnect every time I want the
client
> to send data to the TIdTCPServer.
You *can*, but...
> Does it cause heavy load on the CPU or Network or is it the preferred way?
CPU - not really.
Network - more than it might.
Preferred way? Depends on criteria <g>
Connect/send/disconnect is a sort of way of sending messages over TCP. The
connect/disconnect defines the start and end of each message. Ths is easy,
often done and apallingly slow for small messages. Sending one byte over a
high-latency connection takes *ages* since the 'connect' 3-way handshake and
the 'disconnect' 4-way handshake has to take place over the links, often
swamping any time spent on the actual data transmission.
It's more usual to stay connected and use some sort of protocol to define
each message. WriteLn, with it's terminating character/s, is one way.
Some protocols, used for short bursts of high-bandwidth transfers, use both
mechanisms, eg. HTTP. Connect/disconnect allows large numbers of clients
to be served, providing the transfer-rate profile of each client is
characterised as above, as is the case with human web users who have to read
web pages before initiating the next exchange.
The other problem with connect/disconnect protocols is that context is not
easily stored on the server. With HTTP, this can mean state-driven servers
and context stored on the client, (eg. in cookies or as extended URL data).
Rgds,
Martin
