socket timeouts

[Charles G Waldman]

Nathan Clegg writes:
 > Is there any way to set the timeout for a TCP/IP connection? 
 > Specifically, I'm writing some apps meant to run on the same machine, so
 > if they can't connect *immediately* (i.e. the server app is not running), I
 > need to go to plan B. 

What type of platform are you running on?  On my Linux 2.2.10 box, a
"connect" to a port on the local host with no server app fails
immediately with a "connection refused".