sys/un.h(1) definitions for UNIX domain sockets

SYNOPSIS

#include <sys/un.h>

DESCRIPTION

The <sys/un.h> header shall define the sockaddr_un structure that includes at least the following members:


sa_family_t  sun_family  Address family. 
char         sun_path[]  Socket pathname. 

The sockaddr_un structure is used to store addresses for UNIX domain sockets. Values of this type shall be cast by applications to struct sockaddr for use with socket functions.

The sa_family_t type shall be defined as described in <sys/socket.h> .

The following sections are informative.

APPLICATION USAGE

The size of sun_path has intentionally been left undefined. This is because different implementations use different sizes. For example, 4.3 BSD uses a size of 108, and 4.4 BSD uses a size of 104. Since most implementations originate from BSD versions, the size is typically in the range 92 to 108.

Applications should not assume a particular length for sun_path or assume that it can hold {_POSIX_PATH_MAX} characters (255).

RATIONALE

None.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

None.

COPYRIGHT

Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .