Name

hosts − host name file

Description

The hosts 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 host name is separated from the next by a new line. Items are separated 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, inet(.). Host names can contain any printable character other than a field delimiter, newline, or comment character.

The hosts 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 Service or the Guide to the BIND/Hesiod Service for setup information. 

Files

/etc/hosts

See Also

gethostent(3n)
Guide to the BIND/Hesiod Service
Guide to the Yellow Pages Service