SOCKET(2) Linux Programmer's Manual SOCKET(2)
NAME
socket - create an endpoint for communication
SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
int socket(int domain, int type, int protocol);
DESCRIPTION
Socket creates an endpoint for communication and returns a descriptor.
The domain parameter specifies a communication domain; this selects the protocol family which will be used for communication. These fami-
lies are defined in <sys/socket.h>. The currently understood formats include:
Name Purpose Man page
PF_UNIX,PF_LOCAL Local communication unix(7)
PF_INET IPv4 Internet protocols ip(7)
PF_INET6 IPv6 Internet protocols
PF_IPX IPX - Novell protocols
PF_NETLINK Kernel user interface device netlink(7)
PF_X25 ITU-T X.25 / ISO-8208 protocol x25(7)
PF_AX25 Amateur radio AX.25 protocol
PF_ATMPVC Access to raw ATM PVCs
PF_APPLETALK Appletalk ddp(7)
PF_PACKET Low level packet interface packet(7)
The socket has the indicated type, which specifies the communication semantics. Currently defined types are:
SOCK_STREAM
Provides sequenced, reliable, two-way, connection-based byte streams. An out-of-band data transmission mechanism may be supported.
SOCK_DGRAM
Supports datagrams (connectionless, unreliable messages of a fixed maximum length).
SOCK_SEQPACKET
Provides a sequenced, reliable, two-way connection-based data transmission path for datagrams of fixed maximum length; a consumer is
required to read an entire packet with each read system call.
SOCK_RAW
Provides raw network protocol access.
SOCK_RDM
Provides a reliable datagram layer that does not guarantee ordering.
SOCK_PACKET
Obsolete and should not be used in new programs; see packet(7).
Some socket types may not be implemented by all protocol families; for example, SOCK_SEQPACKET is not implemented for AF_INET.
The protocol specifies a particular protocol to be used with the socket. Normally only a single protocol exists to support a particular
socket type within a given protocol family, in which a case protocol can be specified as 0. However, it is possible that many protocols
may exist, in which case a particular protocol must be specified in this manner. The protocol number to use is specific to the "communica-
tion domain" in which communication is to take place; see protocols(5). See getprotoent(3) on how to map protocol name strings to protocol
numbers.
Sockets of type SOCK_STREAM are full-duplex byte streams, similar to pipes. They do not preserve record boundaries. A stream socket must
be in a connected state before any data may be sent or received on it. A connection to another socket is created with a connect(2) call.
Once connected, data may be transferred using read(2) and write(2) calls or some variant of the send(2) and recv(2) calls. When a session
has been completed a close(2) may be performed. Out-of-band data may also be transmitted as described in send(2) and received as described
in recv(2).
The communications protocols which implement a SOCK_STREAM ensure that data is not lost or duplicated. If a piece of data for which the
peer protocol has buffer space cannot be successfully transmitted within a reasonable length of time, then the connection is considered to
be dead. When SO_KEEPALIVE is enabled on the socket the protocol checks in a protocol-specific manner if the other end is still alive. A
SIGPIPE signal is raised if a process sends or receives on a broken stream; this causes naive processes, which do not handle the signal, to
exit. SOCK_SEQPACKET sockets employ the same system calls as SOCK_STREAM sockets. The only difference is that read(2) calls will return
only the amount of data requested, and any remaining in the arriving packet will be discarded. Also all message boundaries in incoming
datagrams are preserved.
SOCK_DGRAM and SOCK_RAW sockets allow sending of datagrams to correspondents named in send(2) calls. Datagrams are generally received with
recvfrom(2), which returns the next datagram with its return address.
SOCK_PACKET is an obsolete socket type to receive raw packets directly from the device driver. Use packet(7) instead.
An fcntl(2) call with the the F_SETOWN argument can be used to specify a process group to receive a SIGURG signal when the out-of-band data
arrives or SIGPIPE signal when a SOCK_STREAM connection breaks unexpectedly. It may also be used to set the process or process group that
receives the I/O and asynchronous notification of I/O events via SIGIO. Using F_SETOWN is equivalent to an ioctl(2) call with the FIOSE-
TOWN or SIOCSPGRP argument.
When the network signals an error condition to the protocol module (e.g. using a ICMP message for IP) the pending error flag is set for
the socket. The next operation on this socket will return the error code of the pending error. For some protocols it is possible to enable
a per-socket error queue to retrieve detailed information about the error; see IP_RECVERR in ip(7).
The operation of sockets is controlled by socket level options. These options are defined in <sys/socket.h>. The functions setsockopt(2)
and getsockopt(2) are used to set and get options, respectively.
RETURN VALUE
-1 is returned if an error occurs; otherwise the return value is a descriptor referencing the socket.
ERRORS
EPROTONOSUPPORT
The protocol type or the specified protocol is not supported within this domain.
EAFNOSUPPORT
The implementation does not support the specified address family.
ENFILE Not enough kernel memory to allocate a new socket structure.
EMFILE Process file table overflow.
EACCES Permission to create a socket of the specified type and/or protocol is denied.
ENOBUFS or ENOMEM
Insufficient memory is available. The socket cannot be created until sufficient resources are freed.
EINVAL Unknown protocol, or protocol family not available.
Other errors may be generated by the underlying protocol modules.
CONFORMING TO
4.4BSD (the socket function call appeared in 4.2BSD). Generally portable to/from non-BSD systems supporting clones of the BSD socket layer
(including System V variants).
NOTE
The manifest constants used under BSD 4.* for protocol families are PF_UNIX, PF_INET, etc., while AF_UNIX etc. are used for address fami-
lies. However, already the BSD man page promises: "The protocol family generally is the same as the address family", and subsequent stan-
dards use AF_* everywhere.
BUGS
SOCK_UUCP is not implemented yet.
SEE ALSO
accept(2), bind(2), connect(2), fcntl(2), getpeername(2), getsockname(2), getsockopt(2), ioctl(2), listen(2), read(2), recv(2), select(2),
send(2), shutdown(2), socketpair(2), write(2), getprotoent(3), ip(7), socket(7), tcp(7), udp(7), unix(7)
"An Introductory 4.3 BSD Interprocess Communication Tutorial" is reprinted in UNIX Programmer's Supplementary Documents Volume 1.
"BSD Interprocess Communication Tutorial" is reprinted in UNIX Programmer's Supplementary Documents Volume 1.
Linux Man Page 1999-04-24 SOCKET(2)