hosts(4) hosts(4)NAME hosts - host name database DESCRIPTION The hosts file contains information regarding the known hosts on the DARPA Internet. For each host a single line should be present with the following information: Internet address official host name aliases Items are separated by any number of blanks or tab characters. A # indicates the beginning of a comment; characters up to the end of the line are not interpreted by routines that search the file. This file is normally created from the official host database maintained at the Network Information Control Center (NIC), though local changes may be required to bring it up to date regarding unofficial aliases and unknown hosts. Network addresses are specified in the conventional . notation using the inet_addr() routine from the Internet address manipulation library, inet(3N). Host names may contain any printable character other than a field delimiter, newline, or comment character. FILES /etc/hosts Host name Database January 1992 1