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LINK_ADDR(3)	       FreeBSD Library Functions Manual		  LINK_ADDR(3)

NAME
     link_addr,	link_ntoa -- elementary	address	specification routines for
     link level	access

LIBRARY
     Standard C	Library	(libc, -lc)

SYNOPSIS
     #include <sys/types.h>
     #include <sys/socket.h>
     #include <net/if_dl.h>

     void
     link_addr(const char *addr, struct	sockaddr_dl *sdl);

     char *
     link_ntoa(const struct sockaddr_dl	*sdl);

DESCRIPTION
     The routine link_addr() interprets	character strings representing link-
     level addresses, returning	binary information suitable for	use in system
     calls.  The routine link_ntoa() takes a link-level	address	and returns an
     ASCII string representing some of the information present,	including the
     link level	address	itself,	and the	interface name or number, if present.
     This facility is experimental and is still	subject	to change.

     For link_addr(), the string addr may contain an optional network inter-
     face identifier of	the form "name unit-number", suitable for the first
     argument to ifconfig(8), followed in all cases by a colon and an inter-
     face address in the form of groups	of hexadecimal digits separated	by pe-
     riods.  Each group	represents a byte of address; address bytes are	filled
     left to right from	low order bytes	through	high order bytes.

     Thus le0:8.0.9.13.d.30 represents an ethernet address to be transmitted
     on	the first Lance	ethernet interface.

RETURN VALUES
     The link_ntoa() function always returns a null terminated string.	The
     link_addr() function has no return	value.	(See BUGS.)

SEE ALSO
     getnameinfo(3)

HISTORY
     The link_addr() and link_ntoa() functions appeared	in 4.3BSD-Reno.

BUGS
     The returned values for link_ntoa reside in a static memory area.

     The function link_addr() should diagnose improperly formed	input, and
     there should be an	unambiguous way	to recognize this.

     If	the sdl_len field of the link socket address sdl is 0, link_ntoa()
     will not insert a colon before the	interface address bytes.  If this
     translated	address	is given to link_addr()	without	inserting an initial
     colon, the	latter will not	interpret it correctly.

FreeBSD	13.0		       February	28, 2007		  FreeBSD 13.0
NAME | LIBRARY | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | RETURN VALUES | SEE ALSO | HISTORY | BUGS

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