ARES_PARSE_TXT_REPLY(3)

💖 ares_parse_txt_reply(3) 💖

okay bestie, sit down, hydrate, because today we're parsing TXT records and it's genuinely not that deep. this one lives in the Library Functions Manual, and yes it's the ares_parse_txt_reply page, the moment you've all been waiting for. ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

ares_parse_txt_reply — parse a reply to a DNS query of type TXT. that's it. that's the job. lowkey iconic.

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

#include <ares.h>

int ares_parse_txt_reply(const unsigned char* abuf, int alen,
                         struct ares_txt_reply **txt_out);

int ares_parse_txt_reply_ext(const unsigned char* abuf, int alen,
                             struct ares_txt_ext **txt_out);

two functions. one include. we love a two-for-one. 💅

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so ares_parse_txt_reply(3) and ares_parse_txt_reply_ext(3) take the response to a query of type TXT and turn it into a linked list — one element per sub-string, no skimping — of struct ares_txt_reply (or struct ares_txt_ext if you're fancy and called the _ext one).

the parameters abuf and alen give the contents of the response, fr fr. the result gets stored in allocated memory, and a pointer to it gets stored into the variable pointed to by txt_out.

🫶 important, bestie: it is the caller's responsibility to free the resulting txt_out structure when it is no longer needed, using ares_free_data(3). do NOT forget. that's a leak and we don't do leaks in this house. 😭

the structure ares_txt_reply contains the following fields:

struct ares_txt_reply {
  struct ares_txt_reply  *next;
  unsigned int  length;
  unsigned char *txt;
};

the structure ares_txt_ext contains the following fields:

struct ares_txt_ext {
  struct ares_txt_ext  *next;
  unsigned int  length;
  unsigned char *txt;
  unsigned char record_start;
};

now the tea on record_start ☕ — in struct ares_txt_ext, the record_start field is 1 if this structure is a start of a TXT record, and 0 if the structure is a continuation of a previous record. the linked list of the struct ares_txt_ext will have at least one item with record_start equal to 1, and may have some items with record_start equal to 0 between them. so like, the 1s are the main characters and the 0s are the supporting cast. 🎀

these sequences of struct ares_txt_ext (starting from the item with record_start equal to 1, and ending right before the record start item) may be treated as either components of a single TXT record or as a multi-parted TXT record, depending on your particular use case. you get to decide. it's giving choose-your-own-adventure. 🌈

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🔥 RETURN VALUES 🔥

ares_parse_txt_reply (ares_parse_txt_reply_ext) can return any of the following values:

• ARES_SUCCESS — the response was successfully parsed. slay. ate. no notes. 👑
• ARES_EBADRESP — the response was malformatted. 💀 something's wrong with it, bestie.
• ARES_ENODATA — the response did not contain an answer to the query. it's giving silence. 🙈
• ARES_ENOMEM — memory was exhausted. the vibes are depleted, we're out of room. 😭

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💜 AVAILABILITY 💜

this function was first introduced in c-ares version 1.7.0. a classic. vintage. still hitting. ⭐

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🌟 SEE ALSO 🌟

• ares_query(3)
• ares_free_data(3)

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and that's the whole page, bestie!! 🫶 go forth and parse responsibly. this was the ares_parse_txt_reply(3) page from the Library Functions Manual, dated 27 October 2009 — mwah, ily, bye!! 💖🎀🦋