Question about how to use pfsockopen()

I'd like to know how to use the pfsockopen() method correctly. I'm
experimenting with creating a webbased IM client. I was hoping I could
resume a socket from script to script (by using POST or GET or a Session).
This is not working. In the documentation I found that php looks if a
connection to the server:port exists yet. This is not working as I hoped it
would be!

Could someone please explain how to use pfsockopen() and if I generally can
create a persistant socket from a script (not a command prompt php program).