ARES_PARSE_NAPTR_REPLY(3)

💖 ARES_PARSE_NAPTR_REPLY 💖

okay bestie, so this is a page from the Library Functions Manual and it's literally all about ares_parse_naptr_reply — yes the whole name, we're not abbreviating, she's iconic like that. sit down, grab a strawberry, let's go 🍓

✨ NAME ✨

ares_parse_naptr_reply — the girl who parses a reply to a DNS query of type NAPTR 💅

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <ares.h>

int ares_parse_naptr_reply(const unsigned char* abuf, int alen,
                           struct ares_naptr_reply** naptr_out);

like, that's the whole vibe. copy it exactly, no cap. ✨

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so. the ares_parse_naptr_reply function parses the response to a query of type NAPTR and turns it into a linked list of struct ares_naptr_reply. it's giving data-structure-chic.

the parameters abuf and alen give the contents of the response — that's your raw bytes and how many of them, bestie. 🫶

the result gets stored in allocated memory, and a pointer to it gets stored into the variable pointed to by naptr_out. yes, a pointer to a pointer. it's giving layers. it's giving onion. 🧅

⚠️ and this is the part where you LISTEN: it is the caller's responsibility to free the resulting naptr_out structure when it is no longer needed, using the function ares_free_data(3). not optional. free your data or she will haunt you. 😭

and here's what ares_naptr_reply is holding inside — the whole squad, the entire friend group:

struct ares_naptr_reply {
    struct ares_naptr_reply *next;
    unsigned char *flags;
    unsigned char *service;
    unsigned char *regexp;
    char *replacement;
    unsigned short order;
    unsigned short preference;
};

next is the link to the next one in the chain, flags, service, regexp and replacement are the text bits, and order + preference are unsigned shorts, which means they're lil numbers. so cute. so precise. 💜

🎀 RETURN VALUES 🎀

ares_parse_naptr_reply can return any of the following values, and honestly she has range:

• ARES_SUCCESS — the response was successfully parsed. ate. no crumbs. 👑
• ARES_EBADRESP — the response was malformatted. the data showed up looking a mess. 💀
• ARES_ENODATA — the response did not contain an answer to the query. she asked and the universe said nothing back. 🙈
• ARES_ENOMEM — memory was exhausted. ran out of room, fr fr. 😭

🌈 AVAILABILITY 🌈

this function was first introduced in c-ares version 1.7.6. a whole era. a moment in history. ⭐

🌸 SEE ALSO 🌸

• ares_query(3)
• ares_free_data(3)

(the second one is not a suggestion bestie, go free that data 🫶)

okay and that's the whole page!! this was written down on 23 February 2012, and it comes from the Library Functions Manual — so if you see ARES_PARSE_NAPTR_REPLY(3) floating around, that's her signature. mwah 💋 stay parsed, stay free'd ✨💖