gethostbyname(3) BSD Library Functions Manual gethostbyname(3)
NAME
gethostbyname, gethostbyname2, gethostbyaddr, gethostent, sethostent,
endhostent, herror, hstrerror -- get network host entry
LIBRARY
Standard C Library (libc, -lc)
SYNOPSIS
#include <netdb.h>
int h_errno;
struct hostent *
gethostbyname(const char *name);
struct hostent *
gethostbyname2(const char *name, int af);
struct hostent *
gethostbyaddr(const void *addr, socklen_t len, int type);
struct hostent *
gethostent(void);
void
sethostent(int stayopen);
void
endhostent(void);
void
herror(const char *string);
const char *
hstrerror(int err);
DESCRIPTION
The getaddrinfo(3) and getnameinfo(3) functions are preferred over the
gethostbyname(), gethostbyname2(), and gethostbyaddr() functions.
The gethostbyname(), gethostbyname2() and gethostbyaddr() functions each
return a pointer to an object with the following structure describing an
internet host referenced by name or by address, respectively.
The name argument passed to gethostbyname() or gethostbyname2() should
point to a NUL-terminated hostname. The addr argument passed to
gethostbyaddr() should point to an address which is len bytes long, in
binary form (i.e., not an IP address in human readable ASCII form). The
type argument specifies the address family (e.g. AF_INET, AF_INET6, etc.)
of this address.
The structure returned contains information obtained from
mDNSResponder(8), including records in /etc/hosts.
struct hostent {
char *h_name; /* official name of host */
char **h_aliases; /* alias list */
int h_addrtype; /* host address type */
int h_length; /* length of address */
char **h_addr_list; /* list of addresses from name server */
};
#define h_addr h_addr_list[0] /* address, for backward compatibility */
The members of this structure are:
h_name Official name of the host.
h_aliases A NULL-terminated array of alternate names for the host.
h_addrtype The type of address being returned; usually AF_INET.
h_length The length, in bytes, of the address.
h_addr_list A NULL-terminated array of network addresses for the host.
Host addresses are returned in network byte order.
h_addr The first address in h_addr_list; this is for backward com-
patibility.
When using the nameserver, gethostbyname() and gethostbyname2() will
search for the named host in the current domain and its parents unless
the name ends in a dot.
The gethostbyname2() function is an evolution of gethostbyname() which is
intended to allow lookups in address families other than AF_INET, for
example AF_INET6.
The herror() function writes a message to the diagnostic output consist-
ing of the string argument string, the constant string ": ", and a mes-
sage corresponding to the value of h_errno.
The hstrerror() function returns a string which is the message text cor-
responding to the value of the err argument.
FILES
/etc/hosts
/etc/resolv.conf
EXAMPLES
Print out the hostname associated with a specific IP address:
const char *ipstr = "127.0.0.1";
struct in_addr ip;
struct hostent *hp;
if (!inet_aton(ipstr, &ip))
errx(1, "can't parse IP address %s", ipstr);
if ((hp = gethostbyaddr((const void *)&ip,
sizeof ip, AF_INET)) == NULL)
errx(1, "no name associated with %s", ipstr);
printf("name associated with %s is %s\n", ipstr, hp->h_name);
DIAGNOSTICS
Error return status from gethostbyname(), gethostbyname2() and
gethostbyaddr() is indicated by return of a NULL pointer. The integer
h_errno may then be checked to see whether this is a temporary failure or
an invalid or unknown host. The routine herror() can be used to print an
error message describing the failure. If its argument string is
non-NULL, it is printed, followed by a colon and a space. The error mes-
sage is printed with a trailing newline.
The variable h_errno can have the following values:
HOST_NOT_FOUND No such host is known.
TRY_AGAIN This is usually a temporary error and means that the
local server did not receive a response from an authori-
tative server. A retry at some later time may succeed.
NO_RECOVERY Some unexpected server failure was encountered. This is
a non-recoverable error.
NO_DATA The requested name is valid but does not have an IP
address; this is not a temporary error. This means that
the name is known to the name server but there is no
address associated with this name. Another type of
request to the name server using this domain name will
result in an answer; for example, a mail-forwarder may be
registered for this domain.
SEE ALSO
getaddrinfo(3), getnameinfo(3), inet_aton(3), resolver(3), hosts(5),
hostname(7), mDNSResponder(8)
CAVEAT
The gethostent() function is defined, and sethostent() and endhostent()
are redefined, when Standard C Library (libc, -lc) is built to use only
the routines to lookup in /etc/hosts and not the name server.
The gethostent() function reads the next line of /etc/hosts, opening the
file if necessary.
The sethostent() function opens and/or rewinds the file /etc/hosts. If
the stayopen argument is non-zero, the file will not be closed after each
call to gethostbyname(), gethostbyname2() or gethostbyaddr().
The endhostent() function closes the file.
HISTORY
The herror() function appeared in 4.3BSD. The endhostent(),
gethostbyaddr(), gethostbyname(), gethostent(), and sethostent() func-
tions appeared in 4.2BSD. The gethostbyname2() function first appeared
in BIND version 4.9.4.
BUGS
These functions use a thread-specific data storage; if the data is needed
for future use, it should be copied before any subsequent calls overwrite
it.
Though these functions are thread-safe, still it is recommended to use
the getaddrinfo(3) family of functions, instead.
Only the Internet address format is currently understood.
BSD May 12, 2006 BSD
Mac OS X 10.8 - Generated Sat Aug 25 18:27:55 CDT 2012