inet_pton(3) Library Functions Manual inet_pton(3)
NAME
inet_pton - Converts a text string to a numeric address
LIBRARY
Standard C Library (libc.so, libc.a)
SYNOPSIS
#include <arpa/inet.h>
int inet_pton ( int af, const char *src, void *dst) ;
PARAMETERS
Specifies the address family. Valid values are AF_INET for an Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) address and AF_INET6 for an IPv6 address.
Points to the address text string to be converted. Points to a buffer that is to contain the numeric address.
DESCRIPTION
The use of this routine is deprecated. Use the getaddrinfo(3) routine instead; it is also protocol-independent.
The inet_pton() function converts a text string to a numeric value in Internet network-byte order.
If the af parameter is AF_INET, the function accepts a string in the standard IPv4 dotted-decimal form: ddd.ddd.ddd.ddd
In this format, ddd is a one to three digit decimal number between 0 and 255.
If the af parameter is AF_INET6, the function accepts a string in the following form: x:x:x:x:x:x:x:x
In this format, x is hexadecimal value of a 16-bit piece of the address.
IPv6 addresses can contain long strings of zero (0) bits. To make it easier to write these addresses, you can use double colon characters
(::) one time in an address to represent 1 or more 16-bit groups of zeros.
For mixed IPv4 and IPv6 environments, the following form is also accepted: x:x:x:x:x:x:ddd.ddd.ddd.ddd
In this form, x is hexadecimal value of a 16-bit piece of the address and ddd is a one to three digit decimal value between 0 and 255 that
represents the IPv4 address. See RFC 2373 for more information on IPv6 addressing formats.
The calling application is responsible for ensuring that the buffer referred to by the dst parameter is large enough to hold the numeric
address. AF_INET addresses require 4 bytes and AF_INET6 addresses require 16 bytes.
RETURN VALUES
Upon successful completion, the inet_pton() function returns 1. If the input string is not a valid IPv4 dotted-decimal string or a valid
IPv6 address string, the function returns 0. If any other error occurs, the function returns -1.
ERRORS
If the inet_pton() routine call fails, errno is set to one of the following values: The address family specified in the af parameter is
unknown.
RELATED INFORMATION
Functions: getaddrinfo(3), inet_ntop(3).
RFC 2373, IP Version 6 Addressing Architecture delim off
inet_pton(3)