pcap_datalink_val_to_name(3PCAP) man page

pcap_datalink_val_to_name(3PCAP) man page
Updated: 6 September 2026 • View in plain text • Return to Main Contents
NAME
pcap_datalink_val_to_name, pcap_datalink_val_to_description, pcap_datalink_val_to_description_or_dlt - get a name or description for a link-layer header type value
SYNOPSIS
#include <pcap.h>
const char *pcap_datalink_val_to_name(int dlt);
const char *pcap_datalink_val_to_description(int dlt);
const char *pcap_datalink_val_to_description_or_dlt(int dlt);
DESCRIPTION
pcap_datalink_val_to_name()
translates a link-layer header type value to the corresponding
link-layer header type name, which is the
DLT_
name for the link-layer header type value with the
DLT_
removed.
A null pointer
is returned if the type value does not correspond to a known
DLT_
value.
pcap_datalink_val_to_description()
translates a link-layer header type value to a short description of that
link-layer header type.
A null pointer
is returned if the type value does not correspond to a known
DLT_
value.
pcap_datalink_val_to_description_or_dlt()
translates a link-layer header type value to a short description of that
link-layer header type just like
pcap_datalink_val_to_description().
If the type value does not correspond to a known
DLT_
value, the string “DLT n” is returned, where n is the value of
the dlt argument.
BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY
The pcap_datalink_val_to_description_or_dlt() function first became available in libpcap release 1.9.1. In previous releases, pcap_datalink_val_to_description() would have to be called and, if it returned a null pointer, a default string would have to be constructed.
SEE ALSO
pcap(3PCAP), pcap_datalink(3PCAP), pcap_list_datalinks(3PCAP), pcap_datalink_name_to_val(3PCAP)
COLOPHON
This HTML man page was generated at 15:15:20 GMT, September 13, 2026 from a source man page in “The Tcpdump Group” git repositories using man2html and other tools.
