get a protocol entry, given a name
#include <netdb.h> struct protoent *getprotobyname( const char *name );
The getprotobyname() function gets the entry for the given name from the protocol database, /etc/protocols. This function returns a pointer to a structure of type protoent, which contains the broken-out fields of a line in the network protocol database.
The setprotoent() function opens and rewinds the file. If the stayopen flag is nonzero, the net database won't be closed after each call to getprotobyname() or getprotobynumber().
The getprotobyname() and getprotobynumber() functions sequentially search from the beginning of the file until a matching protocol name or protocol number is found, or until EOF is encountered.
A pointer to a valid protoent structure, or NULL if an error occurs.
POSIX 1003.1g (draft)
| Safety: | |
|---|---|
| Interrupt handler | No |
| Signal handler | No |
| Thread | No |
This function uses static data; if the data is needed for future use, it should be copied before any subsequent calls overwrite it.
Currently, only the Internet protocols are understood.
endprotoent(), getprotobynumber(), getprotoent(), protoent, setprotoent()
/etc/protocols in the TCP/IP User's Guide