inet(3N) 4 BSD inet(3N)
NAME
inet_addr, inet_network, inet_ntoa, inet_makeaddr,
inet_lnaof, inet_netof - Internet address manipulation rou-
tines
SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <netinet/in.h>
#include <arpa/inet.h>
unsigned long inet_addr(cp)
char *cp;
int inet_network(cp)
char *cp;
char *inet_ntoa(in)
struct in_addr in;
struct in_addr inet_makeaddr(net, lna)
int net, lna;
int inet_lnaof(in)
struct in_addr in;
int inet_netof(in)
struct in_addr in;
DESCRIPTION
The routines inet_addr and inet_network each interpret char-
acter strings representing numbers expressed in the Internet
standard "." notation, returning numbers suitable for use as
Internet addresses and Internet network numbers, respec-
tively. The routine inet_ntoa takes an Internet address and
returns an ASCII string representing the address in "."
notation. The routine inet_makeaddr takes an Internet net-
work number and a local network address and constructs an
Internet address from it. The routines inet_netof and
inet_lnaof break apart Internet host addresses, returning
the network number and local network address part, respec-
tively.
All Internet address are returned in network order (bytes
ordered from left to right). All network numbers and local
address parts are returned as machine format integer values.
INTERNET ADDRESSES
Values specified using the "." notation take one of the fol-
lowing forms:
a.b.c.d
a.b.c
a.b
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inet(3N) 4 BSD inet(3N)
a
When four parts are specified, each is interpreted as a byte
of data and assigned, from left to right, to the four bytes
of an Internet address.
When a three part address is specified, the last part is
interpreted as a 16-bit quantity and placed in the right
most two bytes of the network address. This makes the three
part address format convenient for specifying Class B net-
work addresses as "128.net.host".
When a two part address is supplied, the last part is inter-
preted as a 24-bit quantity and placed in the right most
three bytes of the network address. This makes the two part
address format convenient for specifying Class A network
addresses as "net.host".
When only one part is given, the value is stored directly in
the network address without any byte rearrangement.
All numbers supplied as "parts" in a "." notation may be
decimal, octal, or hexadecimal, as specified in the C
language (i.e. a leading 0x or 0X implies hexadecimal; oth-
erwise, a leading 0 implies octal; otherwise, the number is
interpreted as decimal).
NOTE
These functions are defined in the 88open Object Compatibil-
ity Standard's Networking Supplement (OCSNS) for use in
OCSNS compliant programs. OCSNS-defined function calls may
be accessed by passing OCS options to cc(1) and/or ld(1).
SEE ALSO
gethostbyname(3N), getnetent(3N), hosts(4C), networks(4C),
DIAGNOSTICS
The value -1 is returned by inet_addr and inet_network for
malformed requests.
BUGS
The problem of host byte ordering versus network byte order-
ing is confusing. A simple way to specify Class C network
addresses in a manner similar to that for Class B and Class
A is needed. The string returned by inet_ntoa resides in a
static memory area.
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