Electrical connector having a reduced longitudinal dimension

An electrical connector comprising:

• an insulative housing having a mating surface, a mounting surface, two opposite side faces and defining a plurality of cavities and a slot between the mating surface and the mounting surface, the housing providing a block and a retention portion on one of the side faces thereof, a space being defined between the block and the retention portion;
• a plurality of conductive contacts received in the respective cavities of the housing;
• a fastener fixed to the retention portion of the housing and located under the block;
• and
• wherein the block serves as a guiding post for guiding the connector to a mating connector.

An electrical connector comprising:

• an insulative housing with a plurality of contacts therein;
• a pair of engagement blocks positioned at two opposite ends of the housing, respectively;
• a pair of retention portions positioned at said two opposite ends of the housing, respectively, each of said retention portions generally aligned with the corresponding one of said engagement blocks in a direction perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of said housing;
• a space being formed between said each of said retention portions and the corresponding engagement block;
• wherein because of said space, a fastener is assembled to the corresponding retention portion through a curved top loading manner;
• and
• wherein each block serves as a guiding post for guiding the connector to a mating connector.