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gethostbyname(3)
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gethostbyname, gethostbyname_r - Get a network host entry
by name
#include <netdb.h>
struct hostent *gethostbyname(
const char *name );
[Tru64 UNIX] The following function is supported in order
to maintain backward compatibility with previous versions
of the operating system. You should not use it in new
designs. int gethostbyname_r(
const char *name,
struct hostent *hptr,
struct hostent_data *hdptr );
Standard C Library (libc)
Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to
industry standards as follows:
gethostbyname(): XNS4.0, XNS5.0
Refer to the standards(5) reference page for more information
about industry standards and associated tags.
Specifies the official network name or alias. [Tru64
UNIX] For gethostbyname_r() only, this points to the hostent
structure. The netdb.h header file defines hostent
structure. [Tru64 UNIX] For gethostbyname_r() only, this
is data for hosts database. The netdb.h header file
defines hostent_data structure.
The gethostbyname() function returns a pointer to a structure
of type hostent. Its members specify data obtained
from either the local /etc/hosts file or one of the files
distributed by DNS/BIND or NIS. To determine which file or
files to search, and in which order, the system uses the
switches in the /etc/svc.conf file. The netdb.h header
file defines the hostent structure.
If using DNS/BIND, the information is obtained from a name
server specified in the /etc/resolv.conf file.
If the name parameter does not contain a dot "." and you
are using DNS/BIND, the gethostbyname() function checks
whether the environment variable HOSTALIASES is set. If
set, it first searches the file named by HOSTALIASES for
an alias matching the name parameter. The alias file has
the following format:
name1 name2
The alias name. This name cannot include dots. The host
name used by DNS/BIND to look up the host information.
The hosts database must be distributed by DNS/BIND.
The gethostbyname() function returns a pointer to threadspecific
data. Subsequent calls to this or a related function
from the same thread overwrite this data.
[Tru64 UNIX] The gethostbyname_r() function is an obsolete
reentrant version of the gethostbyname() function.
It is supported in order to maintain backward compatibility
with previous versions of the operating system and
should not be used in new designs. Note that you must
zero-fill the hdptr structure before its first access by
the gethostbyname_r() function.
Upon successful completion, the gethostbyname() function
returns a pointer to a hostent structure. If it reaches
the end of the network host name database, it returns a
null pointer.
[Tru64 UNIX] Upon successful completion, the gethostbyname_r()
function stores the hostent structure in the
location pointed to by hptr, and returns a value of 0
(zero). Upon failure, it returns a value of -1.
If the gethostbyname() or gethostbyname_r() function call
fails, h_errno is set to one of the following the values:
Host is unknown. The server recognized the request and
the name, but no address is available for the name.
Another type of name server request may be successful. An
unexpected server failure occurred. This is a nonrecoverable
error. A transient error occurred, for example, the
server did not respond. A retry at some later time may be
successful.
[Tru64 UNIX] If any of the following conditions occurs,
the gethostbyaddr_r() function sets errno to the corresponding
value: The name, hptr, or hdptr is invalid.
The Internet network host name database. Each record in
the file occupies a single line and has three fields consisting
of the host address, official host name, and
aliases. The resolver configuration file. The database
service selection configuration file.
Functions: endhostent(3), gethostbyaddr(3), sethostent(3).
Files: hostname(5), resolv.conf(4), svc.conf(4).
Networks: bind_intro(7), nis_intro(7).
Standards: standards(5)
Network Programmer's Guide
gethostbyname(3)
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