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(libc.info)Listening

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Listening for Connections
-------------------------

   Now let us consider what the server process must do to accept
connections on a socket.  First it must use the `listen' function to
enable connection requests on the socket, and then accept each incoming
connection with a call to `accept' (Note: Accepting Connections).
Once connection requests are enabled on a server socket, the `select'
function reports when the socket has a connection ready to be accepted
(Note: Waiting for I/O).

   The `listen' function is not allowed for sockets using
connectionless communication styles.

   You can write a network server that does not even start running
until a connection to it is requested.  Note: Inetd Servers.

   In the Internet namespace, there are no special protection mechanisms
for controlling access to a port; any process on any machine can make a
connection to your server.  If you want to restrict access to your
server, make it examine the addresses associated with connection
requests or implement some other handshaking or identification protocol.

   In the local namespace, the ordinary file protection bits control
who has access to connect to the socket.

 - Function: int listen (int SOCKET, unsigned int N)
     The `listen' function enables the socket SOCKET to accept
     connections, thus making it a server socket.

     The argument N specifies the length of the queue for pending
     connections.  When the queue fills, new clients attempting to
     connect fail with `ECONNREFUSED' until the server calls `accept' to
     accept a connection from the queue.

     The `listen' function returns `0' on success and `-1' on failure.
     The following `errno' error conditions are defined for this
     function:

    `EBADF'
          The argument SOCKET is not a valid file descriptor.

    `ENOTSOCK'
          The argument SOCKET is not a socket.

    `EOPNOTSUPP'
          The socket SOCKET does not support this operation.