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1GETHOSTBYNAME(3)       FreeBSD Library Functions Manual       GETHOSTBYNAME(3)
2
3NNAAMMEE
4     ggeetthhoossttbbyynnaammee, ggeetthhoossttbbyyaaddddrr, ggeetthhoosstteenntt, sseetthhoosstteenntt, eennddhhoosstteenntt, hheerrrroorr
5     -- get network host entry
6
7SSYYNNOOPPSSIISS
8     ##iinncclluuddee <<nneettddbb..hh>>
9
10     _e_x_t_e_r_n _i_n_t _h___e_r_r_n_o;
11
12     _s_t_r_u_c_t _h_o_s_t_e_n_t _*
13     ggeetthhoossttbbyynnaammee(_c_h_a_r _*_n_a_m_e);
14
15     _s_t_r_u_c_t _h_o_s_t_e_n_t _*
16     ggeetthhoossttbbyynnaammee22(_c_h_a_r _*_n_a_m_e, _i_n_t _a_f);
17
18     _s_t_r_u_c_t _h_o_s_t_e_n_t _*
19     ggeetthhoossttbbyyaaddddrr(_c_h_a_r _*_a_d_d_r, _i_n_t _l_e_n_, _t_y_p_e);
20
21     _s_t_r_u_c_t _h_o_s_t_e_n_t _*
22     ggeetthhoosstteenntt();
23
24     sseetthhoosstteenntt(_i_n_t _s_t_a_y_o_p_e_n);
25
26     eennddhhoosstteenntt();
27
28     hheerrrroorr(_c_h_a_r _*_s_t_r_i_n_g);
29
30DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN
31     GGeetthhoossttbbyynnaammee(), ggeetthhoossttbbyynnaammee22(), and ggeetthhoossttbbyyaaddddrr() each return a
32     pointer to a _h_o_s_t_e_n_t structure (see below) describing an internet host
33     referenced by name or by address, as the function names indicate.  This
34     structure contains either the information obtained from the name server,
35     or broken-out fields from a line in _/_e_t_c_/_h_o_s_t_s.  If the local name server
36     is not running, these routines do a lookup in _/_e_t_c_/_h_o_s_t_s.
37
38           struct  hostent {
39                   char    *h_name;        /* official name of host */
40                   char    **h_aliases;    /* alias list */
41                   int     h_addrtype;     /* host address type */
42                   int     h_length;       /* length of address */
43                   char    **h_addr_list;  /* list of addresses from name server */
44           };
45
46           #define h_addr  h_addr_list[0]  /* address, for backward compatibility */
47
48     The members of this structure are:
49
50     h_name       Official name of the host.
51
52     h_aliases    A zero-terminated array of alternate names for the host.
53
54     h_addrtype   The type of address being returned; usually AF_INET.
55
56     h_length     The length, in bytes, of the address.
57
58     h_addr_list  A zero-terminated array of network addresses for the host.
59                  Host addresses are returned in network byte order.
60
61     h_addr       The first address in h_addr_list; this is for backward com-
62                  patibility.
63
64     When using the nameserver, ggeetthhoossttbbyynnaammee() will search for the named host
65     in each parent domain given in the ``search'' directive of resolv.conf(5)
66     unless the name contains a dot (``.'').  If the name contains no dot, and
67     if the environment variable HOSTALIASES contains the name of an alias
68     file, the alias file will first be searched for an alias matching the
69     input name.  See hostname(7) for the domain search procedure and the
70     alias file format.
71
72     GGeetthhoossttbbyynnaammee22() is an evolution of ggeetthhoossttbbyynnaammee() intended to allow
73     lookups in address families other than AF_INET, for example, AF_INET6.
74     Currently, the _a_f argument must be specified as AF_INET else the function
75     will return NULL after having set _h___e_r_r_n_o to NETDB_INTERNAL.
76
77     SSeetthhoosstteenntt() may be used to request the use of a connected TCP socket for
78     queries.  If the _s_t_a_y_o_p_e_n flag is non-zero, this sets the option to send
79     all queries to the name server using TCP and to retain the connection
80     after each call to ggeetthhoossttbbyynnaammee() or ggeetthhoossttbbyyaaddddrr().  Otherwise,
81     queries are performed using UDP datagrams.
82
83     EEnnddhhoosstteenntt() closes the TCP connection.
84
85EENNVVIIRROONNMMEENNTT
86     HOSTALIASES    Name of file containing (_h_o_s_t _a_l_i_a_s, _f_u_l_l _h_o_s_t_n_a_m_e) pairs.
87
88FFIILLEESS
89     /etc/hosts     See hosts(5).
90
91DDIIAAGGNNOOSSTTIICCSS
92     Error return status from ggeetthhoossttbbyynnaammee() and ggeetthhoossttbbyyaaddddrr() is indicated
93     by return of a null pointer.  The external integer _h___e_r_r_n_o may then be
94     checked to see whether this is a temporary failure or an invalid or
95     unknown host.  The routine hheerrrroorr() can be used to print an error message
96     describing the failure.  If its argument _s_t_r_i_n_g is non-NULL, it is
97     printed, followed by a colon and a space.  The error message is printed
98     with a trailing newline.
99
100     _h___e_r_r_n_o can have the following values:
101
102           NETDB_INTERNAL    This indicates an internal error in the library,
103                             unrelated to the network or name service.  _e_r_r_n_o
104                             will be valid in this case; see perror.
105
106           HOST_NOT_FOUND    No such host is known.
107
108           TRY_AGAIN         This is usually a temporary error and means that
109                             the local server did not receive a response from
110                             an authoritative server.  A retry at some later
111                             time may succeed.
112
113           NO_RECOVERY       Some unexpected server failure was encountered.
114                             This is a non-recoverable error, as one might
115                             expect.
116
117           NO_DATA           The requested name is valid but does not have an
118                             IP address; this is not a temporary error.  This
119                             means that the name is known to the name server
120                             but there is no address associated with this
121                             name.  Another type of request to the name server
122                             using this domain name will result in an answer;
123                             for example, a mail-forwarder may be registered
124                             for this domain.
125
126SSEEEE AALLSSOO
127     hosts(5), hostname(7), resolver(3), resolver(5).
128
129CCAAVVEEAATT
130     GGeetthhoosstteenntt() is defined, and sseetthhoosstteenntt() and eennddhhoosstteenntt() are redefined,
131     when _l_i_b_c is built to use only the routines to lookup in _/_e_t_c_/_h_o_s_t_s and
132     not the name server:
133
134
135           GGeetthhoosstteenntt() reads the next line of _/_e_t_c_/_h_o_s_t_s, opening the file if
136           necessary.
137
138           SSeetthhoosstteenntt() is redefined to open and rewind the file.  If the
139           _s_t_a_y_o_p_e_n argument is non-zero, the hosts data base will not be
140           closed after each call to ggeetthhoossttbbyynnaammee() or ggeetthhoossttbbyyaaddddrr().
141
142           EEnnddhhoosstteenntt() is redefined to close the file.
143
144BBUUGGSS
145     All information is contained in a static area so it must be copied if it
146     is to be saved.  Only the Internet address format is currently under-
147     stood.
148
1494th Berkeley Distribution        June 23, 1990       4th Berkeley Distribution
150