freeaddrinfo(3p) — Linux manual page

PROLOG | NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | RETURN VALUE | ERRORS | EXAMPLES | APPLICATION USAGE | RATIONALE | FUTURE DIRECTIONS | SEE ALSO | COPYRIGHT

FREEADDRINFO(3P)        POSIX Programmer's Manual       FREEADDRINFO(3P)

PROLOG         top

       This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The
       Linux implementation of this interface may differ (consult the
       corresponding Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior),
       or the interface may not be implemented on Linux.

NAME         top

       freeaddrinfo, getaddrinfo — get address information

SYNOPSIS         top

       #include <sys/socket.h>
       #include <netdb.h>

       void freeaddrinfo(struct addrinfo *ai);
       int getaddrinfo(const char *restrict nodename,
           const char *restrict servname,
           const struct addrinfo *restrict hints,
           struct addrinfo **restrict res);

DESCRIPTION         top

       The freeaddrinfo() function shall free one or more addrinfo
       structures returned by getaddrinfo(), along with any additional
       storage associated with those structures. If the ai_next field of
       the structure is not null, the entire list of structures shall be
       freed. The freeaddrinfo() function shall support the freeing of
       arbitrary sublists of an addrinfo list originally returned by
       getaddrinfo().

       The getaddrinfo() function shall translate the name of a service
       location (for example, a host name) and/or a service name and
       shall return a set of socket addresses and associated information
       to be used in creating a socket with which to address the
       specified service.

       Note:  In many cases it is implemented by the Domain Name System,
              as documented in RFC 1034, RFC 1035, and RFC 1886.

       The freeaddrinfo() and getaddrinfo() functions shall be thread-
       safe.

       The nodename and servname arguments are either null pointers or
       pointers to null-terminated strings. One or both of these two
       arguments shall be supplied by the application as a non-null
       pointer.

       The format of a valid name depends on the address family or
       families.  If a specific family is not given and the name could
       be interpreted as valid within multiple supported families, the
       implementation shall attempt to resolve the name in all supported
       families and, in absence of errors, one or more results shall be
       returned.

       If the nodename argument is not null, it can be a descriptive
       name or can be an address string.  If the specified address
       family is AF_INET, AF_INET6, or AF_UNSPEC, valid descriptive
       names include host names. If the specified address family is
       AF_INET or AF_UNSPEC, address strings using Internet standard dot
       notation as specified in inet_addr(3p) are valid.

       If the specified address family is AF_INET6 or AF_UNSPEC,
       standard IPv6 text forms described in inet_ntop(3p) are valid.

       If nodename is not null, the requested service location is named
       by nodename; otherwise, the requested service location is local
       to the caller.

       If servname is null, the call shall return network-level
       addresses for the specified nodename.  If servname is not null,
       it is a null-terminated character string identifying the
       requested service. This can be either a descriptive name or a
       numeric representation suitable for use with the address family
       or families.  If the specified address family is AF_INET,
       AF_INET6, or AF_UNSPEC, the service can be specified as a string
       specifying a decimal port number.

       If the hints argument is not null, it refers to a structure
       containing input values that directs the operation by providing
       options and by limiting the returned information to a specific
       socket type, address family, and/or protocol, as described below.
       The application shall ensure that each of the ai_addrlen,
       ai_addr, ai_canonname, and ai_next members, as well as each of
       the non-standard additional members, if any, of this hints
       structure is initialized. If any of these members has a value
       other than the value that would result from default
       initialization, the behavior is implementation-defined. A value
       of AF_UNSPEC for ai_family means that the caller shall accept any
       address family. A value of zero for ai_socktype means that the
       caller shall accept any socket type. A value of zero for
       ai_protocol means that the caller shall accept any protocol. If
       hints is a null pointer, the behavior shall be as if it referred
       to a structure containing the value zero for the ai_flags,
       ai_socktype, and ai_protocol fields, and AF_UNSPEC for the
       ai_family field.

       The ai_flags field to which the hints parameter points shall be
       set to zero or be the bitwise-inclusive OR of one or more of the
       values AI_PASSIVE, AI_CANONNAME, AI_NUMERICHOST, AI_NUMERICSERV,
       AI_V4MAPPED, AI_ALL, and AI_ADDRCONFIG.

       If the AI_PASSIVE flag is specified, the returned address
       information shall be suitable for use in binding a socket for
       accepting incoming connections for the specified service. In this
       case, if the nodename argument is null, then the IP address
       portion of the socket address structure shall be set to
       INADDR_ANY for an IPv4 address or IN6ADDR_ANY_INIT for an IPv6
       address. If the AI_PASSIVE flag is not specified, the returned
       address information shall be suitable for a call to connect()
       (for a connection-mode protocol) or for a call to connect(),
       sendto(), or sendmsg() (for a connectionless protocol). In this
       case, if the nodename argument is null, then the IP address
       portion of the socket address structure shall be set to the
       loopback address. The AI_PASSIVE flag shall be ignored if the
       nodename argument is not null.

       If the AI_CANONNAME flag is specified and the nodename argument
       is not null, the function shall attempt to determine the
       canonical name corresponding to nodename (for example, if
       nodename is an alias or shorthand notation for a complete name).

       Note:  Since different implementations use different conceptual
              models, the terms ``canonical name'' and ``alias'' cannot
              be precisely defined for the general case. However, Domain
              Name System implementations are expected to interpret them
              as they are used in RFC 1034.

                 A numeric host address string is not a ``name'', and
                 thus does not have a ``canonical name'' form; no
                 address to host name translation is performed. See
                 below for handling of the case where a canonical name
                 cannot be obtained.

       If the AI_NUMERICHOST flag is specified, then a non-null nodename
       string supplied shall be a numeric host address string.
       Otherwise, an [EAI_NONAME] error is returned. This flag shall
       prevent any type of name resolution service (for example, the
       DNS) from being invoked.

       If the AI_NUMERICSERV flag is specified, then a non-null servname
       string supplied shall be a numeric port string. Otherwise, an
       [EAI_NONAME] error shall be returned. This flag shall prevent any
       type of name resolution service (for example, NIS+) from being
       invoked.

       By default, with an ai_family of AF_INET6, getaddrinfo() shall
       return only IPv6 addresses. If the AI_V4MAPPED flag is specified
       along with an ai_family of AF_INET6, then getaddrinfo() shall
       return IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses on finding no matching IPv6
       addresses. The AI_V4MAPPED flag shall be ignored unless ai_family
       equals AF_INET6. If the AI_ALL flag is used with the AI_V4MAPPED
       flag, then getaddrinfo() shall return all matching IPv6 and IPv4
       addresses. The AI_ALL flag without the AI_V4MAPPED flag shall be
       ignored.

       If the AI_ADDRCONFIG flag is specified, IPv4 addresses shall be
       returned only if an IPv4 address is configured on the local
       system, and IPv6 addresses shall be returned only if an IPv6
       address is configured on the local system.

       The ai_socktype field to which argument hints points specifies
       the socket type for the service, as defined in socket(3p).  If a
       specific socket type is not given (for example, a value of zero)
       and the service name could be interpreted as valid with multiple
       supported socket types, the implementation shall attempt to
       resolve the service name for all supported socket types and, in
       the absence of errors, all possible results shall be returned. A
       non-zero socket type value shall limit the returned information
       to values with the specified socket type.

       If the ai_family field to which hints points has the value
       AF_UNSPEC, addresses shall be returned for use with any address
       family that can be used with the specified nodename and/or
       servname.  Otherwise, addresses shall be returned for use only
       with the specified address family. If ai_family is not AF_UNSPEC
       and ai_protocol is not zero, then addresses shall be returned for
       use only with the specified address family and protocol; the
       value of ai_protocol shall be interpreted as in a call to the
       socket() function with the corresponding values of ai_family and
       ai_protocol.

RETURN VALUE         top

       A zero return value for getaddrinfo() indicates successful
       completion; a non-zero return value indicates failure. The
       possible values for the failures are listed in the ERRORS
       section.

       Upon successful return of getaddrinfo(), the location to which
       res points shall refer to a linked list of addrinfo structures,
       each of which shall specify a socket address and information for
       use in creating a socket with which to use that socket address.
       The list shall include at least one addrinfo structure. The
       ai_next field of each structure contains a pointer to the next
       structure on the list, or a null pointer if it is the last
       structure on the list. Each structure on the list shall include
       values for use with a call to the socket() function, and a socket
       address for use with the connect() function or, if the AI_PASSIVE
       flag was specified, for use with the bind() function. The fields
       ai_family, ai_socktype, and ai_protocol shall be usable as the
       arguments to the socket() function to create a socket suitable
       for use with the returned address. The fields ai_addr and
       ai_addrlen are usable as the arguments to the connect() or bind()
       functions with such a socket, according to the AI_PASSIVE flag.

       If nodename is not null, and if requested by the AI_CANONNAME
       flag, the ai_canonname field of the first returned addrinfo
       structure shall point to a null-terminated string containing the
       canonical name corresponding to the input nodename; if the
       canonical name is not available, then ai_canonname shall refer to
       the nodename argument or a string with the same contents. The
       contents of the ai_flags field of the returned structures are
       undefined.

       All fields in socket address structures returned by getaddrinfo()
       that are not filled in through an explicit argument (for example,
       sin6_flowinfo) shall be set to zero.

       Note:  This makes it easier to compare socket address structures.

ERRORS         top

       The getaddrinfo() function shall fail and return the
       corresponding error value if:

       [EAI_AGAIN] The name could not be resolved at this time. Future
                   attempts may succeed.

       [EAI_BADFLAGS]
                   The flags parameter had an invalid value.

       [EAI_FAIL]  A non-recoverable error occurred when attempting to
                   resolve the name.

       [EAI_FAMILY]
                   The address family was not recognized.

       [EAI_MEMORY]
                   There was a memory allocation failure when trying to
                   allocate storage for the return value.

       [EAI_NONAME]
                   The name does not resolve for the supplied
                   parameters.

                   Neither nodename nor servname were supplied. At least
                   one of these shall be supplied.

       [EAI_SERVICE]
                   The service passed was not recognized for the
                   specified socket type.

       [EAI_SOCKTYPE]
                   The intended socket type was not recognized.

       [EAI_SYSTEM]
                   A system error occurred; the error code can be found
                   in errno.

       The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES         top

       The following (incomplete) program demonstrates the use of
       getaddrinfo() to obtain the socket address structure(s) for the
       service named in the program's command-line argument. The program
       then loops through each of the address structures attempting to
       create and bind a socket to the address, until it performs a
       successful bind().

           #include <stdio.h>
           #include <stdlib.h>
           #include <unistd.h>
           #include <string.h>
           #include <sys/socket.h>
           #include <netdb.h>

           int
           main(int argc, char *argv[])
           {
               struct addrinfo *result, *rp;
               int sfd, s;

               if (argc != 2) {
                   fprintf(stderr, "Usage: %s port\n", argv[0]);
                   exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
               }

               struct addrinfo hints = {0};
               hints.ai_family = AF_UNSPEC;
               hints.ai_socktype = SOCK_DGRAM;
               hints.ai_flags = AI_PASSIVE;
               hints.ai_protocol = 0;

               s = getaddrinfo(NULL, argv[1], &hints, &result);
               if (s != 0) {
                   fprintf(stderr, "getaddrinfo: %s\n", gai_strerror(s));
                   exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
               }

               /* getaddrinfo() returns a list of address structures.
                  Try each address until a successful bind().
                  If socket(2) (or bind(2)) fails, close the socket
                  and try the next address. */

               for (rp = result; rp != NULL; rp = rp->ai_next) {
                   sfd = socket(rp->ai_family, rp->ai_socktype,
                       rp->ai_protocol);
                   if (sfd == -1)
                       continue;

                   if (bind(sfd, rp->ai_addr, rp->ai_addrlen) == 0)
                       break;            /* Success */

                   close(sfd);
               }

               if (rp == NULL) {         /* No address succeeded */
                   fprintf(stderr, "Could not bind\n");
                   exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
               }

               freeaddrinfo(result);     /* No longer needed */

                        /* ... use socket bound to sfd ... */
           }

APPLICATION USAGE         top

       If the caller handles only TCP and not UDP, for example, then the
       ai_protocol member of the hints structure should be set to
       IPPROTO_TCP when getaddrinfo() is called.

       If the caller handles only IPv4 and not IPv6, then the ai_family
       member of the hints structure should be set to AF_INET when
       getaddrinfo() is called.

       Although it is common practice to initialize the hints structure
       using:

           struct addrinfo hints;
           memset(&hints, 0, sizeof hints);

       this method is not portable according to this standard, because
       the structure can contain pointer or floating-point members that
       are not required to have an all-bits-zero representation after
       default initialization. Portable methods make use of default
       initialization; for example:

           struct addrinfo hints = { 0 };

       or:

           static struct addrinfo hints_init;
           struct addrinfo hints = hints_init;

       A future version of this standard may require that a pointer
       object with an all-bits-zero representation is a null pointer,
       and that addrinfo does not have any floating-point members if a
       floating-point object with an all-bits-zero representation does
       not have the value 0.0.

       The term ``canonical name'' is misleading; it is taken from the
       Domain Name System (RFC 2181). It should be noted that the
       canonical name is a result of alias processing, and not
       necessarily a unique attribute of a host, address, or set of
       addresses. See RFC 2181 for more discussion of this in the Domain
       Name System context.

RATIONALE         top

       None.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS         top

       None.

SEE ALSO         top

       connect(3p), endservent(3p), gai_strerror(3p), getnameinfo(3p),
       socket(3p)

       The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2017, netdb.h(0p),
       sys_socket.h(0p)

COPYRIGHT         top

       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic
       form from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard for Information
       Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The
       Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright
       (C) 2018 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
       Engineers, Inc and The Open Group.  In the event of any
       discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The
       Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group
       Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be
       obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

       Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page
       are most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of
       the source files to man page format. To report such errors, see
       https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .

IEEE/The Open Group               2017                  FREEADDRINFO(3P)

Pages that refer to this page: netdb.h(0p)gai_strerror(3p)getaddrinfo(3p)getnameinfo(3p)