GETSERVENT(3)

GETSERVENT(3) | Library Functions Manual | GETSERVENT(3)

# NAME

getservent, getservbyport, getservbyname, setservent, endservent — get service entry

# LIBRARY

Standard C Library (libc, -lc)

# SYNOPSIS

#include <netdb.h>
struct servent *
getservent();
struct servent *
getservbyname(const char *name, const char *proto);
struct servent *
getservbyport(int port, const 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 data base, /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 NULL terminated list of alternative names for the service.
s_port
  The port number at which the service resides. Port numbers must be given and 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 data base 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 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.

May 25, 1995 | NetBSD 8.3