getnetbyname()

Updated: April 19, 2023

Get a network entry, given a name

Synopsis:

#include <netdb.h>

struct netent * getnetbyname( const char * name );

Arguments:

name
The name of the network whose entry you want to find.

Library:

libsocket

Use the -l socket option to qcc to link against this library.

Description:

The getnetbyname() function gets the network entry for the given name. This function returns a pointer to a structure of type netent, which contains the broken-out fields of a line in the network database, /etc/networks.

The setnetent() function opens and rewinds the file. If you pass a nonzero stayopen argument to setnetent(), the network database isn't closed after each call to getnetbyname() or getnetbyaddr().

The getnetbyaddr() and getnetbyname() functions sequentially search from the beginning of the file until a matching net name or net address and type is found, or until EOF is encountered. Network numbers are supplied in host order.

Returns:

A pointer to a valid netent structure, or NULL if an error occurs.

Files:

/etc/networks
Network name database file.
/etc/nsswitch.conf
Name-service switch configuration file.

Classification:

POSIX 1003.1

Safety:  
Cancellation point Yes
Interrupt handler No
Signal handler No
Thread No