In the resolution comments for bug report 12266 ("Error on socket connect causes resource leak"), Robert Ehteshamzadeh wrote
TClientSocket is deprecated. This report is left open to allow for suggested workarounds.
This was for Delphi 6. In later versions, TClientSocket and TServerSocket have not been installed in the Tool palette by default, but an installation instruction was provided.
Has this status changed since then, so that TClientSocket (and TServerSocket too) are now first-class members in the Delphi VCL again? I would like to use TClientSocket (as another TCP/IP library after Indy and Synapse) in some projects and could not find an official status information in the Embarcadero DocWiki.
(An official index of 'deprecated' classes / methods would be useful).
To answer your question specifically:
Yes, TClientSocket and TServerSocket are still deprecated, and I can't imagine that this situation will change.