PCAP_SET_SNAPLEN(3PCAP)

💖 PCAP_SET_SNAPLEN 💖

okay bestie, so this one lives in the 3PCAP section of the manual, and it's genuinely such a little cutie. it does one job, it does it well, and it does it before anything spicy happens. no cap.

✨ NAME ✨

pcap_set_snaplen — sets the snapshot length for a capture handle that is not yet activated. that's it. that's the whole vibe. 🎀

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <pcap/pcap.h>

int pcap_set_snaplen(pcap_t *p, int snaplen);

like. two lines. iconic. 👑

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so here's the tea, bestie: pcap_set_snaplen() sets the snapshot length that's gonna be used on a capture handle — and it sets it to snaplen — for when that handle gets activated. ✨

read that again though. when the handle is activated. not now. not later-later. it's a setting you're queueing up, it's the outfit you're picking out before you even leave the house. the handle isn't live yet, so you're just telling it how much it's allowed to grab once it does go live. 🫶

💅 RETURN VALUE 💅

• 0 — slay. success. it worked, you're that girl. 💖
• PCAP_ERROR_ACTIVATED — it's giving "you're too late bestie" 😭. this is what you get if you call pcap_set_snaplen() on a capture handle that has already been activated. the window closed. the ship sailed. you cannot set the snaplen on something that's already awake.

lowkey important: once a handle is activated, this function is just not the move. check yourself before you wreck yourself. 🙈

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• pcap(3PCAP)
• pcap_create(3PCAP)
• pcap_activate(3PCAP)

these three are the friend group. pcap_create() makes the handle, pcap_set_snaplen() dresses it up, pcap_activate() lets it out of the house. y'all are obsessed with each other, fr fr. 🧚

3 January 2014 energy, PCAP_SET_SNAPLEN(3PCAP) forever — that's the whole page bestie, go set some snaplens responsibly 💜⭐🍓