For TCP/IP, if the port is specified as zero, the service provider assigns a unique port to the application with a value between 1024 and 5000. The application can use getsockname after calling bind to learn the address and the port that has been assigned to it. If the Internet address is equal to INADDR_ANY, getsockname cannot necessarily supply the address until the socket is connected, since several addresses can be valid if the host is multihomed. Binding to a specific port number other than port 0 is discouraged for client applications, since there is a danger of conflicting with another socket already using that port number.
The getsockname function does not always return information about the host address when the socket has been bound to an unspecified address, unless the socket has been connected with connect or accept (for example, using ADDR_ANY). A Windows Sockets application must not assume that the address will be specified unless the socket is connected. The address that will be used for the socket is unknown unless the socket is connected when used in a multihomed host. If the socket is using a connectionless protocol, the address may not be available until I/O occurs on the socket.