Reputation: 942
I am developing an application on android which automatically swaps LAN networks, and I have a server which should listen on some port for connections. Will binding its address to localhost save me from the trouble of reseting the server and starting it again?
Upvotes: 0
Views: 157
Reputation: 116888
I'm assuming that what you are asking if binding to localhost saves your application from needed to rebind to serve on a new interface that just became available.
The short answer is no. Binding to localhost
only means you are binding to the loopback interface. If a network change happens (like a wifi connection comes or goes) the loopback interface is not affected and you will have to rebind to get the new interface.
See here for some ideas: Detect a new network connection (linux-server) and it's status in java
I guess you need to poll NetworkInterface.getInterfaceAddresses() every so often to see if there is a new interface.
Upvotes: 1
Reputation: 137362
Localhost will be available even at network change, and should make no problem for you. Many services and applications are using it for inter-process communication (such as media player) and it is safe.
Upvotes: 1