hosts(5)hosts(5)Namehosts - host name file
Description
The file is an ASCII file that contains information about the known
hosts on the DARPA Internet. For each host a single line should be
present with the following information:
Internet address
Official host name
Aliases
Each name is separated from the next by a new line. Items are sepa‐
rated by any number of blanks or tab characters. A number sign (#)
indicates the beginning of a comment; characters up to the end of the
line are not interpreted by routines that search the file. This file
is normally created from the official host data base maintained at the
Network Information Control Center (NIC), though local changes may be
required to bring it up to date regarding unofficial aliases or unknown
hosts.
Host addresses are specified in the conventional dot (.) notation using
the inet_addr routine from the Internet address manipulation library,
Host names can contain any printable character other than a field
delimiter, newline, or comment character.
The database may be distributed in a network by a naming service, such
as Yellow Pages or BIND/Hesiod. See the Guide to the Yellow Pages Ser‐
vice or the Guide to the BIND/Hesiod Service for setup information.
FilesSee Alsogethostent(3n)
Guide to the BIND/Hesiod Service
Guide to the Yellow Pages Service
hosts(5)
