NNG_SOCKET(7)

📦
version 1.12.0 · 4 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 NNG_SOCKET 💖

okay bestie, grab your strawberry matcha 🍓 because today we're learning about nng_socket, the BSD Socket transport from the NNG Reference Manual. she's experimental, she's mysterious, she's giving ✨main character✨. let's get into it.

🌸 NAME 🌸

nng_socket — BSD Socket transport (experimental)

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so the socket transport lets peers talk to each other across any BSD socket you throw at it — like, literally any of them, the ones you make with nng_socket_pair() included. it's flexible like that, slay 💅.

here's the big plot twist though: this transport only supports listeners, created with nng_listener_create().

⚠️ bestie listen — if you try to make a dialer with this transport, you get NNG_ENOTSUP. it's just not that kind of girl. no dialers. periodt.

the socket file descriptor gets handed to the listener using the NNG_OPT_SOCKET_FD option (as an integer). set that option and the listener will create a pipe — backed by the file descriptor you passed in. iconic behavior, no cap 🫶.

about the protocol between peers: it's compatible with the protocol used for the TCP transport, BUT — and this is important — that's an implementation detail and it's subject to change without notice. so don't build your whole personality around it. 😭

💀 also: this transport is experimental, and at present it's only supported on POSIX platforms. that's the vibe check, and the vibe says POSIX only.

🎀 Registration 🎀

good news, zero effort required — no special action is necessary to register this transport. she just shows up. love that for us. 💖

🌈 URI Format 🌈

this transport uses the URL socket://, without further qualification. clean, simple, no extra drama. ✨

🧚 Socket Address 🧚

the socket address will be of family NNG_AF_UNSPEC. and that's it — there are no further socket details available. mysterious queen. 👑

💅 Transport Options 💅

the following transport option is available:

  • NNG_OPT_SOCKET_FD — (int) this one is a write-only option, and it may be set multiple times on a listener. every single time you set it, the listener creates a pipe backed by the given file descriptor you passed as an argument. so yes, you can stack her up. 🔥

additionally, the following options may be supported on pipes when the platform supports them:

  • NNG_OPT_PEER_GID
  • NNG_OPT_PEER_PID
  • NNG_OPT_PEER_UID
  • NNG_OPT_PEER_ZONEID

(no promises on those last four — it's platform dependent, so check your platform before you get your hopes up 🙈)

🫶 SEE ALSO 🫶

and that's the whole page bestie, you ate it up 💖 this version is dated 2026-06-30, part of the NNG Reference Manual, and it's NNG_SOCKET(7) — so go forth, make those listeners, and remember: no dialers, POSIX only, and the TCP-protocol compatibility is a secret she tells nobody. iykyk. byeee 🌸🦋💜

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