Datagrams - The GNU C Library

Next: Inetd, Previous: Connections, Up: Sockets

### 16.10 Datagram Socket Operations

This section describes how to use communication styles that don't use connections (styles `SOCK_DGRAM` and `SOCK_RDM`). Using these styles, you group data into packets and each packet is an independent communication. You specify the destination for each packet individually.

Datagram packets are like letters: you send each one independently with its own destination address, and they may arrive in the wrong order or not at all.

The `listen` and `accept` functions are not allowed for sockets using connectionless communication styles.