EXPLAIN_GETHOSTID_OR_DIE(3)

💖 explain_gethostid_or_die(3) 💖

okay bestie, welcome to the Library Functions Manual, and lemme tell you about explain_gethostid_or_die — it's giving "get the unique identifier of the current host and report errors" energy and honestly? iconic.

---

✨ NAME ✨

explain_gethostid_or_die — get the unique identifier of the current host and report errors

like yes, that's the whole vibe. grab the host id, and if it goes wrong, we are not being quiet about it 💅

---

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <libexplain/gethostid.h>
long explain_gethostid_or_die(void);
long explain_gethostid_on_error(void);

two functions, one header, zero chill. let's get into it 🦋

---

🎀 DESCRIPTION 🎀

so. the explain_gethostid_or_die function is used to call the gethostid(3) system call. on failure an explanation will be printed to stderr, obtained from the explain_gethostid(3) function, and then the process terminates by calling exit(EXIT_FAILURE).

💀 yes bestie, it literally dies. that's the _or_die part. no cap. if it fails, it does not come back, it's over, the process is gone, we're calling exit(EXIT_FAILURE) and that's the end of that chapter.

the explain_gethostid_on_error function is used to call the gethostid(3) system call. on failure an explanation will be printed to stderr, obtained from the explain_gethostid(3) function, but still returns to the caller.

🫶 so this one is the softer sibling. it still spills all the tea to stderr, still gets that explanation from explain_gethostid(3), but it comes back to you. it does not exit. it's the "we can talk about this" version.

---

⭐ RETURN VALUE ⭐

the explain_gethostid_or_die function only returns on success, see gethostid(3) for more information. on failure, prints an explanation and exits, it does not return.

😭 like fr fr — if it comes back at all, that means it worked. if it failed, you never see it again, because it's busy exiting.

the explain_gethostid_on_error function always returns the value return by the wrapped gethostid(3) system call.

✨ always. every single time. even on failure. that's the whole point of it.

---

🌈 EXAMPLE 🌈

the explain_gethostid_or_die function is intended to be used in a fashion similar to the following example:

long result = explain_gethostid_or_die();

look at her. one line. main character energy. does the call, and if it fails you get a whole explanation plus an exit, all from that tiny little line 🎀

---

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• gethostid(3) — get the unique identifier of the current host
• explain_gethostid(3) — explain gethostid(3) errors
• exit(2) — terminate the calling process

---

💜 COPYRIGHT 💜

• libexplain version 1.4
• Copyright (C) 2013 Peter Miller

---

and that's the whole page bestie 🦋 tysm for reading, mwah 💖

libexplain version 1.4 — Copyright (C) 2013 Peter Miller — and the page signs off as explain_gethostid_or_die(3). slay. periodt. 💅✨