irda socket programming in visual c++ - sockets

Question

hello I am newby to irda sockets. I have a macbook pro that has a built-in Apple IR reciver. I am using visual studio 2013,
#include <af_irda.h>
#include <winsock2.h>
#incude <iostream>
using namespace std;
#pragma comment(lib,"ws2_32.lib")
int main()
{
WORD wVersion = MAKEWORD(2,2);
WSADATA wSaData;
if(WSAStartup(wVersion), &wSaData))
{
cout << "Failed to initialize winsock library!\n";
return 1;
}
int irSock = socket(AF_IRDA, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
if(irSock == SOCKET_ERROR)
{
cout << "Socket creation failed! error code: " << WSAGetLastError() << endl;
}
//the socket creation failed with 10047
cout << endl << endl << endl;
system("pause");
return 0;
}
does this mean that my laptop doesn't have irda adapter?? if so what is IR receiver then?? can't we use IR receiver to write irda socket applications???
*** please anyhelp is highly appreciated

Answer 1

1- socket creation failed and WSAGetLastError() returns 10047 when the address family is not supported. (ie: the error doesn't belong to hardware but to platform)
on windows7, 8, 10 (almost all new windows OSs exclude irDA support) we get this error while on windows xp, linux fedora the socket creation succeeds BUT this doesn't mean that your laptop/pc is necessarily provided with irDA adapter.
2- IR receiver is not an irDA adapter:
An IR receiver is just a dumb receiver that reads IR commands (that was a tough one!). IRDA is a complex bidirectional protocol involving reliable communication with acknowledgments typically used to transfer files or emulate a serial interface between hand held devices and a laptop or PC. Or, as Wannabe said, you want an IR receiver since IRDA doesn't know how to listen to remote commands.