ARES_QUERY(3)

💖 NAME 💖

ares_query — Initiate a single-question DNS query ✨

So bestie, this is ares_query(3) from the c-ares library functions manual, and we are gonna make a whole DNS query together. Periodt. 🦋

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <ares.h>

typedef void (*ares_callback_dnsrec)(void *arg, ares_status_t status,
                                     size_t timeouts,
                                     const ares_dns_record_t *dnsrec);

ares_status_t ares_query_dnsrec(ares_channel_t      *channel,
                                const char          *name,
                                ares_dns_class_t     dnsclass,
                                ares_dns_rec_type_t  type,
                                ares_callback_dnsrec callback,
                                void                *arg,
                                unsigned short      *qid);

typedef void (*ares_callback)(void *arg, int status,
                              int timeouts, unsigned char *abuf,
                              int alen);

void ares_query(ares_channel_t *channel, const char *name,
                int dnsclass, int type,
                ares_callback callback, void *arg);

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

okay so. The ares_query_dnsrec(3) and ares_query(3) functions initiate a single-question DNS query on the name service channel identified by channel. One question, one vibe, no multitasking 💅

The parameter name gives the query name as a NUL-terminated C string of period-separated labels, optionally ending with a period. And here's the lil catch — periods and backslashes within a label must be escaped with a backslash. Yes really. Escape them or it's giving chaos. 🙈

The parameters dnsclass and type give the class and type of the query.

Now, the two flavors, because ofc there's two:

• ares_query_dnsrec(3) uses the ares ares_dns_class_t and ares_dns_rec_type_t defined types. Fancy. ✨
• ares_query(3) uses the values defined in <arpa/nameser.h>. Old school but valid, no cap.

When the query is complete or has failed, the ares library will invoke callback. And the timing? Completion or failure of the query may happen immediately (like, even before the return of the function call 😭), or may happen during a later call to ares_process(3) or ares_destroy(3). So don't assume anything about when, bestie.

🚨 Real talk: If this is called from a thread other than which the main program event loop is running, care needs to be taken to ensure any file descriptor lists are updated immediately within the eventloop. And when the associated callback is called, it is called with a channel lock — so care must be taken to ensure any processing is minimal to prevent DNS channel stalls. Do not start a whole side quest in that callback. Keep it snappy. 🔥

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🎀 The callback args, explained

The callback argument arg is copied from the ares_query_dnsrec(3) or ares_query(3) argument arg. Whatever you passed in comes right back to you. Cute. 🫶

The callback argument status indicates whether the query succeeded and, if not, how it failed. It may have any of the following values:

• ARES_SUCCESS — The query completed successfully. 🎉 slay
• ARES_ENODATA — The query completed but contains no answers.
• ARES_EFORMERR — The query completed but the server claims that the query was malformatted.
• ARES_ESERVFAIL — The query completed but the server claims to have experienced a failure. (This code can only occur if the ARES_FLAG_NOCHECKRESP flag was specified at channel initialization time; otherwise, such responses are ignored at the ares_send_dnsrec(3) level.)
• ARES_ENOTFOUND — The query completed but the queried-for domain name was not found.
• ARES_ENOTIMP — The query completed but the server does not implement the operation requested by the query. (This code can only occur if the ARES_FLAG_NOCHECKRESP flag was specified at channel initialization time; otherwise, such responses are ignored at the ares_send_dnsrec(3) level.)
• ARES_EREFUSED — The query completed but the server refused the query. (This code can only occur if the ARES_FLAG_NOCHECKRESP flag was specified at channel initialization time; otherwise, such responses are ignored at the ares_send_dnsrec(3) level.)
• ARES_EBADNAME — The query name name could not be encoded as a domain name, either because it contained a zero-length label or because it contained a label of more than 63 characters. (63!! remember that number 🍓)
• ARES_ETIMEOUT — No name servers responded within the timeout period.
• ARES_ECONNREFUSED — No name servers could be contacted.
• ARES_ENOMEM — Memory was exhausted. 💀
• ARES_ECANCELLED — The query was cancelled.
• ARES_EDESTRUCTION — The name service channel channel is being destroyed; the query will not be completed.
• ARES_ENOSERVER — The query will not be completed because no DNS servers were configured on the channel.

The callback argument timeouts reports how many times a query timed out during the execution of the given request. Counting the L's basically. 😭

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🦋 The buffer situation

If the query completed (even if there was something wrong with it, as indicated by some of the above error codes), the callback argument dnsrec or abuf will be non-NULL, otherwise they will be NULL.

⚠️ Listen up because this part is important: The abuf buffer is owned by the c-ares library and is only valid for the duration of the callback. The callback must not modify or free it, and must not retain a reference to it after returning; treat it as read-only. The parameter is intentionally not declared const solely to preserve API/ABI compatibility with existing applications. So yeah — it's giving mutable but it is NOT yours to touch. Hands off, bestie. 💅

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🌈 AVAILABILITY 🌈

ares_query_dnsrec(3) was introduced in c-ares 1.28.0. Babygirl is not that old, iykyk. ⭐

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• ares_process(3)
• ares_dns_record(3)

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okay that's the whole page, you ate it, go query something 🎀

This little legend is from Library Functions Manual, dated 24 July 1998, and its source/version footer says ARES_QUERY(3). Love that for us. 💖✨🌸