GETSERVENT(3) BSD Library Functions Manual GETSERVENT(3) NAME getservent, getservbyport, getservbyname, setservent, endservent - get service entry SYNOPSIS #include <netdb.h> struct servent * getservent(void); struct servent * getservbyname(char *name, char *proto); struct servent * getservbyport(int port, char *proto); void setservent(int stayopen); void endservent(void); DESCRIPTION The getservent(), getservbyname(), and getservbyport() functions each return a pointer to an object with the following structure containing the broken-out fields of a line in the network services database, /etc/services. struct servent { char *s_name; /* official name of service */ char **s_aliases; /* alias list */ int s_port; /* port service resides at */ char *s_proto; /* protocol to use */ }; The members of this structure are: s_name The official name of the service. s_aliases A zero-terminated list of alternate names for the service. s_port The port number at which the service resides. Port numbers are returned in network byte order. s_proto The name of the protocol to use when contacting the service. The getservent() function reads the next line of the file, opening the file if necessary. The setservent() function opens and rewinds the file. If the stayopen flag is non-zero, the net database will not be closed after each call to getservbyname() or getservbyport(). The endservent() function closes the file. The getservbyname() and getservbyport() functions sequentially search from the beginning of the file until a matching protocol name or port number (specified in network byte order) is found, or until EOF is encountered. If a protocol name is also supplied (non-null), searches must also match the protocol. FILES /etc/services DIAGNOSTICS Null pointer (0) returned on EOF or error. SEE ALSO getprotoent(3), services(5) HISTORY The getservent(), getservbyport(), getservbyname(), setservent(), and endservent() functions appeared in 4.2BSD. BUGS These functions use static data storage; if the data is needed for future use, it should be copied before any subsequent calls overwrite it. Expecting port numbers to fit in a 32-bit quantity is probably naive. BSD January 12, 1994 BSD |