NS(3)			 BSD Library Functions Manual			 NS(3)

NAME
     ns_addr, ns_ntoa — Xerox NS(tm) address conversion routines

SYNOPSIS
     #include <sys/types.h>
     #include <netns/ns.h>

     struct ns_addr
     ns_addr(char *cp);

     char *
     ns_ntoa(struct ns_addr ns);

DESCRIPTION
     The routine ns_addr() interprets character strings representing XNS
     addresses, returning binary information suitable for use in system calls.
     The routine ns_ntoa() takes XNS addresses and returns ASCII strings rep‐
     resenting the address in a notation in common use in the Xerox Develop‐
     ment Environment:

	   <network number>.<host number>.<port number>

     Trailing zero fields are suppressed, and each number is printed in hexa‐
     decimal, in a format suitable for input to ns_addr().  Any fields lacking
     super-decimal digits will have a trailing ‘H’ appended.

     Unfortunately, no universal standard exists for representing XNS
     addresses.	 An effort has been made to insure that ns_addr() be compati‐
     ble with most formats in common use.  It will first separate an address
     into 1 to 3 fields using a single delimiter chosen from period ‘.’, colon
     ‘:’ or pound-sign ‘#’.  Each field is then examined for byte separators
     (colon or period).	 If there are byte separators, each subfield separated
     is taken to be a small hexadecimal number, and the entirety is taken as a
     network-byte-ordered quantity to be zero extended in the high-network-
     order bytes.  Next, the field is inspected for hyphens, in which case the
     field is assumed to be a number in decimal notation with hyphens separat‐
     ing the millenia.	Next, the field is assumed to be a number: It is
     interpreted as hexadecimal if there is a leading ‘0x’ (as in C), a trail‐
     ing ‘H’ (as in Mesa), or there are any super-decimal digits present.  It
     is interpreted as octal is there is a leading ‘0’ and there are no super-
     octal digits.  Otherwise, it is converted as a decimal number.

RETURN VALUES
     None. (See BUGS.)

SEE ALSO
     hosts(5), networks(5),

HISTORY
     The ns_addr() and ns_toa() functions appeared in 4.3BSD.

BUGS
     The string returned by ns_ntoa() resides in a static memory area.	The
     function ns_addr() should diagnose improperly formed input, and there
     should be an unambiguous way to recognize this.

4.3 Berkeley Distribution	 June 4, 1993	     4.3 Berkeley Distribution

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