Unix Sockets : AF_LOCAL vs AF_INET

c unix unix-socket
npn picture npn · Mar 9, 2014 · Viewed 8.2k times · Source

I'm just starting with socket programming in UNIX and I was reading the man pages for the socket system call. I'm a bit confused about the AF_LOCAL argument and when it is used. The manual just says local communication. Wouldn't an AF_INET format also work for local communication?

Answer

Ben Whaley picture Ben Whaley · Mar 9, 2014

AF_LOCAL uses UNIX domain sockets which are local to the filesystem and can be used for internal communications. AF_INET is an IP socket. AF_LOCAL will not incur some performance penalties related to sending data over IP. See this old but very nice discussion of the topic.

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