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30 .\" @(#)socket.2 8.1 (Berkeley) 6/4/93
37 .Nd create an endpoint for communication
43 .Fn socket "int domain" "int type" "int protocol"
46 creates an endpoint for communication and returns a descriptor.
50 parameter specifies a communications domain within which
51 communication will take place; this selects the protocol family
53 These families are defined in the include file
54 .Ao Pa sys/socket.h Ac .
55 The currently understood formats are:
57 .Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
58 PF_LOCAL local (previously UNIX) domain protocols
59 PF_INET ARPA Internet protocols
60 PF_INET6 IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) protocols
62 PF_NS Xerox Network Systems protocols
63 PF_IMPLINK IMP \*(lqhost at IMP\*(rq link layer
64 PF_APPLETALK AppleTalk protocols
65 PF_BLUETOOTH Bluetooth protocols
68 The socket has the indicated
70 which specifies the semantics of communication.
71 Currently defined types are:
73 .Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
83 type provides sequenced, reliable,
84 two-way connection based byte streams.
85 An out-of-band data transmission mechanism may be supported.
89 datagrams (connectionless, unreliable messages of
90 a fixed (typically small) maximum length).
93 socket may provide a sequenced, reliable,
94 two-way connection-based data transmission path for datagrams
95 of fixed maximum length; a consumer may be required to read
96 an entire packet with each read system call.
97 This facility is protocol specific, and presently implemented
101 sockets provide access to internal network protocols and interfaces.
104 which is available only to the super-user, and
107 but not yet implemented, are not described here.
111 specifies a particular protocol to be used with the socket.
112 Normally only a single protocol exists to support a particular
113 socket type within a given protocol family.
114 However, it is possible that many protocols may exist, in which case
115 a particular protocol must be specified in this manner.
116 The protocol number to use is
117 particular to the \*(lqcommunication domain\*(rq in which communication
118 is to take place; see
123 are full-duplex byte streams.
124 A stream socket must be in a
126 state before any data may be sent or received
128 A connection to another socket is created with a
131 Once connected, data may be transferred using
135 calls or some variant of the
140 When a session has been completed a
143 Out-of-band data may also be transmitted as described in
145 and received as described in
148 The communications protocols used to implement a
151 is not lost or duplicated.
152 If a piece of data for which the
153 peer protocol has buffer space cannot be successfully transmitted
154 within a reasonable length of time, then
155 the connection is considered broken and calls
156 will indicate an error with
160 in the global variable
162 The protocols optionally keep sockets
164 by forcing transmissions
165 roughly every minute in the absence of other activity.
166 An error is then indicated if no response can be
167 elicited on an otherwise
168 idle connection for an extended period (e.g., 5 minutes).
171 signal is raised if a process sends
172 on a broken stream; this causes naive processes,
173 which do not handle the signal, to exit.
176 sockets employ the same system calls
180 The only difference is that
182 calls will return only the amount of data requested,
183 and any remaining in the arriving packet will be discarded.
188 sockets allow sending of datagrams to correspondents
192 Datagrams are generally received with
194 which returns the next datagram with its return address.
198 call can be used to specify a process group to receive
201 signal when the out-of-band data arrives.
202 It may also enable non-blocking I/O
203 and asynchronous notification of I/O events
207 The operation of sockets is controlled by socket level
209 These options are defined in the file
210 .Ao Pa sys/socket.h Ac .
215 system calls are used to set and get options, respectively.
217 A \-1 is returned if an error occurs, otherwise the return
218 value is a descriptor referencing the socket.
225 Permission to create a socket of the specified type and/or protocol
227 .It Bq Er EAFNOSUPPORT
228 The address family (domain) is not supported or
229 the specified domain is not supported by this protocol family.
231 The per-process descriptor table is full.
233 The system file table is full.
235 Insufficient buffer space is available.
236 The socket cannot be created until sufficient resources are freed.
237 .It Bq Er EPROTONOSUPPORT
238 The protocol family is not supported or
239 the specified protocol is not supported within this domain.
241 The socket type is not supported by the protocol.
262 .%T "An Introductory 4.4BSD Interprocess Communication Tutorial"
265 .Pq see Pa /usr/share/doc/psd/20.ipctut
267 .%T "Advanced 4.4BSD IPC Tutorial"
268 .%A Samuel J. Leffler
275 .Pq see Pa /usr/share/doc/psd/21.ipc
279 function call appeared in