Client Communication

[Rob Lister]

Hopefully this is the right forum for this question.  If I could better form my query I would just search wiki for an answer but I'm not smart enough to know what questions to ask.

What I'd really like is an old-style flowchart of the the whole process.  If such a thing exists, please link me!  I can't read code so...there ya go.

So...I start my bitcoin client.  It starts making connections. 

Who is it communicating with?  How does that communication work?  Is it connecting to a central bitcoin ip address?

Help me phrase the question if my question doesn't make sense.

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[Stephen Gornick]

So...I start my bitcoin client.  It starts making connections.  

Who is it communicating with?  How does that communication work?  Is it connecting to a central bitcoin ip address?

It is connecting to peer nodes that it already knows of, unless it is the first time and then it discovers nodes.

Here's the wiki page that addresses your question further.
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Network

There are a handful of very excellent overviews:
 - http://omegataupodcast.net/2011/03/59-bitcoin-a-digital-decentralized-currency (1 hour 30 minute podcast)
 - http://linuxoutlaws.com/podcast/215 (2 hour podcast)
 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQPSwA2Itbs (watch starting at about 0:41 minutes in)