resolver(3) - Linux manual page (original) (raw)


resolver(3) Library Functions Manual resolver(3)

NAME top

   res_ninit, res_nquery, res_nsearch, res_nquerydomain,
   res_nmkquery, res_nsend, res_nclose, res_init, res_query,
   res_search, res_querydomain, res_mkquery, res_send, dn_comp,
   dn_expand - resolver routines

LIBRARY top

   Resolver library (_libresolv_, _-lresolv_)

SYNOPSIS top

   **#include <netinet/in.h>**
   **#include <arpa/nameser.h>**
   **#include <resolv.h>**

   **struct __res_state;**
   **typedef struct __res_state *res_state;**

   **int res_ninit(res_state** _statep_**);**

   **void res_nclose(res_state** _statep_**);**

   **int res_nquery(res_state** _statep_**,**
              **const char ***_dname_**, int** _class_**, int** _type_**,**
              **unsigned char** _answer_**[.**_anslen_**], int** _anslen_**);**

   **int res_nsearch(res_state** _statep_**,**
              **const char ***_dname_**, int** _class_**, int** _type_**,**
              **unsigned char** _answer_**[.**_anslen_**], int** _anslen_**);**

   **int res_nquerydomain(res_state** _statep_**,**
              **const char ***_name_**, const char ***_domain_**,**
              **int** _class_**, int** _type_**, unsigned char** _answer_**[.**_anslen_**],**
              **int** _anslen_**);**

   **int res_nmkquery(res_state** _statep_**,**
              **int** _op_**, const char ***_dname_**, int** _class_**,**
              **int** _type_**, const unsigned char** _data_**[.**_datalen_**], int** _datalen_**,**
              **const unsigned char ***_newrr_**,**
              **unsigned char** _buf_**[.**_buflen_**], int** _buflen_**);**

   **int res_nsend(res_state** _statep_**,**
              **const unsigned char** _msg_**[.**_msglen_**], int** _msglen_**,**
              **unsigned char** _answer_**[.**_anslen_**], int** _anslen_**);**

   **int dn_comp(const char ***_expdn_**, unsigned char** _compdn_**[.**_length_**],**
              **int** _length_**, unsigned char** _dnptrs_**,**
              **unsigned char** _lastdnptr_**);**

   **int dn_expand(const unsigned char ***_msg_**,**
              **const unsigned char ***_eomorig_**,**
              **const unsigned char ***_compdn_**, char** _expdn_**[.**_length_**],**
              **int** _length_**);**

   **[[deprecated]] extern struct __res_state _res;**

   **[[deprecated]] int res_init(void);**

   **[[deprecated]]**
   **int res_query(const char ***_dname_**, int** _class_**, int** _type_**,**
              **unsigned char** _answer_**[.**_anslen_**], int** _anslen_**);**

   **[[deprecated]]**
   **int res_search(const char ***_dname_**, int** _class_**, int** _type_**,**
              **unsigned char** _answer_**[.**_anslen_**], int** _anslen_**);**

   **[[deprecated]]**
   **int res_querydomain(const char ***_name_**, const char ***_domain_**,**
              **int** _class_**, int** _type_**, unsigned char** _answer_**[.**_anslen_**],**
              **int** _anslen_**);**

   **[[deprecated]]**
   **int res_mkquery(int** _op_**, const char ***_dname_**, int** _class_**,**
              **int** _type_**, const unsigned char** _data_**[.**_datalen_**], int** _datalen_**,**
              **const unsigned char ***_newrr_**,**
              **unsigned char** _buf_**[.**_buflen_**], int** _buflen_**);**

   **[[deprecated]]**
   **int res_send(const unsigned char** _msg_**[.**_msglen_**], int** _msglen_**,**
              **unsigned char** _answer_**[.**_anslen_**], int** _anslen_**);**

DESCRIPTION top

   **Note:** This page is incomplete (various resolver functions provided
   by glibc are not described) and likely out of date.

   The functions described below make queries to and interpret the
   responses from Internet domain name servers.

   The API consists of a set of more modern, reentrant functions and
   an older set of nonreentrant functions that have been superseded.
   The traditional resolver interfaces such as **res_init**() and
   **res_query**() use some static (global) state stored in the __res_
   structure, rendering these functions non-thread-safe.  BIND 8.2
   introduced a set of new interfaces **res_ninit**(), **res_nquery**(), and
   so on, which take a _resstate_ as their first argument, so you can
   use a per-thread resolver state.

   The **res_ninit**() and **res_init**() functions read the configuration
   files (see [resolv.conf(5)](../man5/resolv.conf.5.html)) to get the default domain name and name
   server address(es).  If no server is given, the local host is
   tried.  If no domain is given, that associated with the local host
   is used.  It can be overridden with the environment variable
   **LOCALDOMAIN**.  **res_ninit**() or **res_init**() is normally executed by
   the first call to one of the other functions.  Every call to
   **res_ninit**() requires a corresponding call to **res_nclose**() to free
   memory allocated by **res_ninit**() and subsequent calls to
   **res_nquery**().

   The **res_nquery**() and **res_query**() functions query the name server
   for the fully qualified domain name _name_ of specified _type_ and
   _class_.  The reply is left in the buffer _answer_ of length _anslen_
   supplied by the caller.

   The **res_nsearch**() and **res_search**() functions make a query and
   waits for the response like **res_nquery**() and **res_query**(), but in
   addition they implement the default and search rules controlled by
   **RES_DEFNAMES** and **RES_DNSRCH** (see description of __res_ options
   below).

   The **res_nquerydomain**() and **res_querydomain**() functions make a
   query using **res_nquery**()/**res_query**() on the concatenation of _name_
   and _domain_.

   The following functions are lower-level routines used by
   **res_nquery**()/**res_query**().

   The **res_nmkquery**() and **res_mkquery**() functions construct a query
   message in _buf_ of length _buflen_ for the domain name _dname_.  The
   query type _op_ is one of the following (typically **QUERY**):

   **QUERY** Standard query.

   **IQUERY** Inverse query.  This option was removed in glibc 2.26,
          since it has not been supported by DNS servers for a very
          long time.

   **NS_NOTIFY_OP**
          Notify secondary of SOA (Start of Authority) change.

   _newrr_ is currently unused.

   The **res_nsend**() and **res_send**() function send a preformatted query
   given in _msg_ of length _msglen_ and returns the answer in _answer_
   which is of length _anslen_.  They will call **res_ninit**()/**res_init**()
   if it has not already been called.

   The **dn_comp**() function compresses the domain name _expdn_ and
   stores it in the buffer _compdn_ of length _length_.  The compression
   uses an array of pointers _dnptrs_ to previously compressed names in
   the current message.  The first pointer points to the beginning of
   the message and the list ends with NULL.  The limit of the array
   is specified by _lastdnptr_.  If _dnptr_ is NULL, domain names are not
   compressed.  If _lastdnptr_ is NULL, the list of labels is not
   updated.

   The **dn_expand**() function expands the compressed domain name
   _compdn_ to a full domain name, which is placed in the buffer
   _expdn_ of size _length_.  The compressed name is contained in a
   query or reply message, and _msg_ points to the beginning of the
   message.

   The resolver routines use configuration and state information
   contained in a __resstate_ structure (either passed as the _statep_
   argument, or in the global variable __res_, in the case of the older
   nonreentrant functions).  The only field of this structure that is
   normally manipulated by the user is the _options_ field.  This field
   can contain the bitwise "OR" of the following options:

   **RES_INIT**
          True if **res_ninit**() or **res_init**() has been called.

   **RES_DEBUG**
          Print debugging messages.  This option is available only if
          glibc was built with debugging enabled, which is not the
          default.

   **RES_AAONLY** (unimplemented; deprecated in glibc 2.25)
          Accept authoritative answers only.  **res_send**() continues
          until it finds an authoritative answer or returns an error.
          This option was present but unimplemented until glibc 2.24;
          since glibc 2.25, it is deprecated, and its usage produces
          a warning.

   **RES_USEVC**
          Use TCP connections for queries rather than UDP datagrams.

   **RES_PRIMARY** (unimplemented; deprecated in glibc 2.25)
          Query primary domain name server only.  This option was
          present but unimplemented until glibc 2.24; since glibc
          2.25, it is deprecated, and its usage produces a warning.

   **RES_IGNTC**
          Ignore truncation errors.  Don't retry with TCP.

   **RES_RECURSE**
          Set the recursion desired bit in queries.  Recursion is
          carried out by the domain name server, not by **res_send**().
          [Enabled by default].

   **RES_DEFNAMES**
          If set, **res_search**() will append the default domain name to
          single component names—that is, those that do not contain a
          dot.  [Enabled by default].

   **RES_STAYOPEN**
          Used with **RES_USEVC** to keep the TCP connection open between
          queries.

   **RES_DNSRCH**
          If set, **res_search**() will search for hostnames in the
          current domain and in parent domains.  This option is used
          by [gethostbyname(3)](../man3/gethostbyname.3.html).  [Enabled by default].

   **RES_INSECURE1**
          Accept a response from a wrong server.  This can be used to
          detect potential security hazards, but you need to compile
          glibc with debugging enabled and use **RES_DEBUG** option (for
          debug purpose only).

   **RES_INSECURE2**
          Accept a response which contains a wrong query.  This can
          be used to detect potential security hazards, but you need
          to compile glibc with debugging enabled and use **RES_DEBUG**
          option (for debug purpose only).

   **RES_NOALIASES**
          Disable usage of **HOSTALIASES** environment variable.

   **RES_USE_INET6**
          Try an AAAA query before an A query inside the
          [gethostbyname(3)](../man3/gethostbyname.3.html) function, and map IPv4 responses in IPv6
          "tunneled form" if no AAAA records are found but an A
          record set exists.  Since glibc 2.25, this option is
          deprecated, and its usage produces a warning; applications
          should use [getaddrinfo(3)](../man3/getaddrinfo.3.html), rather than [gethostbyname(3)](../man3/gethostbyname.3.html).

   **RES_ROTATE**
          Causes round-robin selection of name servers from among
          those listed.  This has the effect of spreading the query
          load among all listed servers, rather than having all
          clients try the first listed server first every time.

   **RES_NOCHECKNAME** (unimplemented; deprecated in glibc 2.25)
          Disable the modern BIND checking of incoming hostnames and
          mail names for invalid characters such as underscore (_),
          non-ASCII, or control characters.  This option was present
          until glibc 2.24; since glibc 2.25, it is deprecated, and
          its usage produces a warning.

   **RES_KEEPTSIG** (unimplemented; deprecated in glibc 2.25)
          Do not strip TSIG records.  This option was present but
          unimplemented until glibc 2.24; since glibc 2.25, it is
          deprecated, and its usage produces a warning.

   **RES_BLAST** (unimplemented; deprecated in glibc 2.25)
          Send each query simultaneously and recursively to all
          servers.  This option was present but unimplemented until
          glibc 2.24; since glibc 2.25, it is deprecated, and its
          usage produces a warning.

   **RES_USEBSTRING** (glibc 2.3.4 to glibc 2.24)
          Make reverse IPv6 lookups using the bit-label format
          described in RFC 2673; if this option is not set (which is
          the default), then nibble format is used.  This option was
          removed in glibc 2.25, since it relied on a backward-
          incompatible DNS extension that was never deployed on the
          Internet.

   **RES_NOIP6DOTINT** (glibc 2.24 and earlier)
          Use _ip6.arpa_ zone in IPv6 reverse lookup instead of
          _ip6.int_, which is deprecated since glibc 2.3.4.  This
          option is present up to and including glibc 2.24, where it
          is enabled by default.  In glibc 2.25, this option was
          removed.

   **RES_USE_EDNS0** (since glibc 2.6)
          Enables support for the DNS extensions (EDNS0) described in
          RFC 2671.

   **RES_SNGLKUP** (since glibc 2.10)
          By default, glibc performs IPv4 and IPv6 lookups in
          parallel since glibc 2.9.  Some appliance DNS servers
          cannot handle these queries properly and make the requests
          time out.  This option disables the behavior and makes
          glibc perform the IPv6 and IPv4 requests sequentially (at
          the cost of some slowdown of the resolving process).

   **RES_SNGLKUPREOP**
          When **RES_SNGLKUP** option is enabled, opens a new socket for
          the each request.

   **RES_USE_DNSSEC**
          Use DNSSEC with OK bit in OPT record.  This option implies
          **RES_USE_EDNS0**.

   **RES_NOTLDQUERY**
          Do not look up unqualified name as a top-level domain
          (TLD).

   **RES_DEFAULT**
          Default option which implies: **RES_RECURSE**, **RES_DEFNAMES**,
          **RES_DNSRCH**, and **RES_NOIP6DOTINT**.

RETURN VALUE top

   The **res_ninit**() and **res_init**() functions return 0 on success, or
   -1 if an error occurs.

   The **res_nquery**(), **res_query**(), **res_nsearch**(), **res_search**(),
   **res_nquerydomain**(), **res_querydomain**(), **res_nmkquery**(),
   **res_mkquery**(), **res_nsend**(), and **res_send**() functions return the
   length of the response, or -1 if an error occurs.

   The **dn_comp**() and **dn_expand**() functions return the length of the
   compressed name, or -1 if an error occurs.

   In the case of an error return from **res_nquery**(), **res_query**(),
   **res_nsearch**(), **res_search**(), **res_nquerydomain**(), or
   **res_querydomain**(), the global variable _herrno_ (see
   [gethostbyname(3)](../man3/gethostbyname.3.html)) can be consulted to determine the error.

FILES top

   _/etc/resolv.conf_
          resolver configuration file

   _/etc/host.conf_
          resolver configuration file

ATTRIBUTES top

   For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see
   [attributes(7)](../man7/attributes.7.html).
   ┌───────────────────────────────┬───────────────┬────────────────┐
   │ **Interface** │ **Attribute** │ **Value** │
   ├───────────────────────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────┤
   │ **res_ninit**(), **res_nclose**(),    │ Thread safety │ MT-Safe locale │
   │ **res_nquery**(), **res_nsearch**(),  │               │                │
   │ **res_nquerydomain**(),           │               │                │
   │ **res_nsend**()                   │               │                │
   ├───────────────────────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────┤
   │ **res_nmkquery**(), **dn_comp**(),    │ Thread safety │ MT-Safe        │
   │ **dn_expand**()                   │               │                │
   └───────────────────────────────┴───────────────┴────────────────┘

STANDARDS top

   None.

HISTORY top

   4.3BSD.

SEE ALSO top

   [gethostbyname(3)](../man3/gethostbyname.3.html), [resolv.conf(5)](../man5/resolv.conf.5.html), [resolver(5)](../man5/resolver.5.html), [hostname(7)](../man7/hostname.7.html),
   **named**(8)

   The GNU C library source file _resolv/README_.

COLOPHON top

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   man-pages@man7.org

Linux man-pages 6.10 2024-07-23 resolver(3)


Pages that refer to this page:hostname(1), pmdanetcheck(1), gethostbyname(3), hosts(5), resolv.conf(5)