INTRO(3) | Library Functions Manual | INTRO(3)

# NAME

`intro` —
introduction to the system libraries

# DESCRIPTION

This section provides an overview of the system libraries, their functions, error returns and other common definitions and concepts. Most of these functions are available from the standard C library, libc. Other libraries, such as the math library, libm, must be indicated at compile time with the `-l` option of the compiler.

The various system libraries supplied in NetBSD (followed by the linker flags) are:

libasn1 (`-l` asn1)
  The abstract syntax notation (ASN) library provides routines for the specification of abstract data types.
libbz2 (`-l` bz2)
  Block-sorting compressor library providing routines for fast and efficient compression.
libc (`-l` c)
  The standard C library. When using the C compiler cc(1), it is not necessary to supply the linker flag `-l` c for these functions. There are several subsystems included inside libc:
  standard I/O routines
    see stdio(3)
  database routines
    see db(3)
  bit operators
    see bitstring(3)
  string operators
    see string(3)
  character tests and character operators
  encryption and hash routines
    see md4(3) and md5(3).
  storage allocation
    see mpool(3) and malloc(3)
  time functions
    see time(3)
  signal handling
    see signal(3)
libcom_err (`-l` com_err)
  The common error description library. See com_err(3).
libcompat (`-l` compat)
  Functions which are obsolete but are available for compatibility with 4.3BSD. In particular, a number of system call interfaces provided in previous releases of BSD have been included for source code compatibility. Use of these routines should, for the most part, be avoided. The manual page entry for each compatibility routine indicates the proper interface to use.
libcrypt (`-l` crypt)
  The crypt library. See crypt(3).
libcrypto (`-l` crypto)
  The OpenSSL cryptographic library. See crypto(3).
libcurses (`-l` curses `-l` terminfo)
  Terminal independent screen management routines for two dimensional non-bitmap display terminals. See curses(3).
libdes (`-l` des)
  The OpenSSL cryptographic library for the DES algorithms. See des(3).
libdm (`-l` dm)
  The device-mapper driver access library used for communication with kernel driver dm(4) and for lvm(8) subsystem.
libedit (`-l` edit)
  The command-line editor or editline library. The editline library provides generic editing and history functions. See editline(3).
libform (`-l` form)
  The curses form library provides a terminal-independent form system using the curses library. The form library provides facilities for defining forms on terminals. See forms(3).
libgssapi (`-l` gssapi)
  The Generic Security Services (GSS) API library. This library provides verification services to applications and usually sits above the cryptographic libraries.
libhesiod (`-l` hesiod)
  The Hesiod library. This library provides routines for performing lookups of Hesiod information, which is stored as text records in the Domain Name Service. See hesiod(3).
libhdb (`-l` hdb)
  The Heimdal Kerberos 5 authentication/authorisation database access library.
libintl (`-l` intl)
  The internationalized message handling library. See gettext(3).
libipsec (`-l` ipsec)
  The IPsec policy control library. See ipsec_set_policy(3) and ipsec_strerror(3).
libkadm5clnt (`-l` kadm5clnt)
  The Kerberos 5 administration client library.
libkadm5srv (`-l` kadm5srv)
  The Kerberos 5 administration server library. See kadm5_pwcheck(3).
libkafs (`-l` kafs)
  The Kerberos IV AFS library. See kafs(3).
libkdb (`-l` kdb)
  The Kerberos IV authentication/authorisation database access library.
libkrb (`-l` krb)
  The Kerberos IV library.
libkrb5 (`-l` krb5)
  The Kerberos 5 library. See krb5(3).
libkstream (`-l` kstream)
  Kerberos IV encrypted stream library.
libkvm (`-l` kvm)
  Kernel data access library. See kvm(3).
libl (`-l` l)
  The library for lex(1).
libm (`-l` m)
  The math library. See math(3).
libmenu (`-l` menu)
  The curses menu library. See menus(3).
libpanel (`-l` panel)
  The curses panel library. See panel(3).
libpcap (`-l` pcap)
  The packet capture library. See pcap(3).
libpci (`-l` pci)
  The PCI bus access library. See pci(3).
libposix (`-l` posix)
  The POSIX compatibility library provides a compatibility interface for POSIX functions which differ from the standard BSD interfaces. See chown(2) and rename(2).
libresolv (`-l` resolv)
  The DNS resolver library.
librmt (`-l` rmt)
  Remote magnetic tape library. See rmtops(3).
libroken (`-l` roken)
  A library containing compatibility functions used by Kerberos. It implements functionality required by the Kerberos implementation not implemented in the standard NetBSD libraries.
librpcsvc (`-l` rpcsvc)
  The Remote Procedure Call (RPC) services library. See rpc(3).
libskey (`-l` skey)
  The S/Key one-time password library. See skey(3).
libsl (`-l` sl)
libss (`-l` ss)
libssl (`-l` ssl)
  The secure sockets layer (SSL) library. See ssl(3).
libtelnet (`-l` telnet)
  The telnet library.
libterminfo (`-l` terminfo)
  The terminal-independent operation library. See terminfo(3).
libusbhid (`-l` usbhid)
  The Universal Serial Bus (USB) Human Interface Devices access library. See libusbhid(3).
libutil (`-l` util)
  The system utilities library. See util(3).
libwrap (`-l` wrap)
  The TCP wrappers library. See hosts_access(3).
liby (`-l` y)
  The library for yacc(1).
libz (`-l` z)
  General-purpose compression library. See zlib(3).

# SEE ALSO

cc(1), ld(1), nm(1), rtld(1), intro(2)

# HISTORY

An `intro` manual appeared in Version 7 AT&T UNIX.

May 11, 2018 | NetBSD 9.1