Codguru -Traces Route Code-This project was undertaken because of the need to explore sockets and their different uses. I started by making a ping program that sent an ICMP Packet to specified network addresses. Have a look here

Code Project- Same Project submitted there as well. For Details click here.

Network Anaylser- I am currently making a Network Analyser in Linux, something like ethereal - not that big though.

Protocol Development- I (now - a - days) want to go into Protocol Development. First step is Network Analyser. A little article about it is here.

Windows- I have worked professionally in Windows ( 9x/NT/XP ) mostly in COM/DCOM and i will tell you from my experience that DCOM has Security Nightmares. Remember those are my ideas !!! . I believe one should learn how window works then proceed to these technologies. When I started coding in Visual C++ I felt then need for understanding the Windows Architecture. Here is a little article which would help if you are thinking of programming in Windows, specially if you are a C programmer wanting to learn Win Programming look here.

Unix Compiler- In this tutorial, we'll deal with compilation of a C and C++ program, using the compiler directly from the command line. It might be that you'll eventually use a more sophisticated interface (an IDE - Integrated Development Environment) of some sort, but the common denominator you'll always find is the plain command line interface. Further more, even if you use an IDE, it could help you understand how things work "behind the scenes". We'll see how to compile a program, how to combine several source files into a single program, how to add debug information and how to optimize code.

Unix Debugger- The explanations given here are specific to the "gdb" debugger, since there are no real standards regarding the activation and usage of debuggers, but once you know what features to expect from a debugger, it's not too hard to adapt your knowledge to different debuggers

MakeFile- Compiling a program made of one source file is easy. Compiling one made of few sources is slightly annoying, but may be automated via a simple shell script. Anything larger than that would start to get on your nerves. This is where makefiles are helpful.