Inside Macintosh: Networking /

Chapter 3 - Name-Binding Protocol (NBP)

This chapter describes the Name-Binding Protocol (NBP) that you can use to make your process or application available to other processes or applications across the network. This chapter also describes how you can use NBP to obtain the addresses of other processes and applications on the network.

This chapter uses the term entity to refer to processes and applications that run on an AppleTalk network. You use NBP in conjunction with another protocol that allows you to send and receive data. For example, you can register your entity with NBP and then use a transport protocol such as ADSP to communicate with other entities; ADSP opens
a socket for your entity to use and assigns that socket number to the entity. Your entity registers an NBP name in conjunction with this socket number.

You should read this chapter if you want to

• register an entity with NBP to make it available for other network entities to contact
• obtain another entity's address so that you can contact it
• obtain the NBP names and internet socket addresses of all registered entities whose NBP names match your partial specified name

For an overview of the Name-Binding Protocol and how it fits within the AppleTalk protocol stack, read the chapter "Introduction to AppleTalk" in this book, which also introduces and defines some of the terminology used in this chapter. For a description
of the Name-Binding Protocol specification, see Inside AppleTalk, second edition.

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Chapter Contents

About NBP

Using NBP

Registering Your Entity With NBP

Setting Up a Names Table Entry

Registering a Names Table Entry

Handling Names Table Entry Requests

Preparing an Entity Name

Looking Up a Name

Extracting a Name From a List of Returned Names

Confirming a Name

Removing an Entry From the Names Table

Canceling a Request

NBP Reference

Data Structures

Address Block Record

Names Table Entry Record

Entity Name Record

The MPP Parameter Block for NBP

Routines

Registering an Entity

Handling Name and Address Requests

Summary of NBP

Pascal Summary

Constants

Data Types

Address Block Record

Names Table Entry Record

Entity Name Record

MPP Parameter Block for NBP

Routines

Registering an Entity

Handling Name and Address Requests

C Summary

Constants

Data Types

Address Block Record

Names Table Entry Data Structure

Entity Name Record

MPP Parameter Block for NBP

Routines

Registering an Entity

Handling Name and Address Requests

Assembly-Language Summary

Constants

Unit Number for the .MPP Driver

NBP Symbolic Characters

NBP Command Codes

NBP Packet

NBP Tuple Header Offsets

NBP Packet Types

NBP Names Information Socket (NIS) Number

Maximum Number of Tuples in NBP Packet, Maximum Size of a Tuple Name

Data Structures

MPP Parameter Block Common Fields for NBP

PRegisterName Parameter Variant

PLookupName Parameter Variant

PConfirmName Parameter Variant

PRemoveName Parameter Variant

PKillNBP Parameter Variant

Result Codes