<!-- name=dgram -->
-Datagram sockets are available through `require('dgram')`.
+The `dgram` module provides an implementation of UDP Datagram sockets.
-Important note: the behavior of [`dgram.Socket#bind()`][] has changed in v0.10
-and is always asynchronous now. If you have code that looks like this:
+ const dgram = require('dgram');
+ const server = dgram.createSocket('udp4');
- const s = dgram.createSocket('udp4');
- s.bind(1234);
- s.addMembership('224.0.0.114');
+ server.on('error', (err) => {
+ console.log(`server error:\n${err.stack}`);
+ server.close();
+ });
-You have to change it to this:
+ server.on('message', (msg, rinfo) => {
+ console.log(`server got: ${msg} from ${rinfo.address}:${rinfo.port}`);
+ });
- const s = dgram.createSocket('udp4');
- s.bind(1234, () => {
- s.addMembership('224.0.0.114');
+ server.on('listening', () => {
+ var address = server.address();
+ console.log(`server listening ${address.address}:${address.port}`);
});
+ server.bind(41234);
+ // server listening 0.0.0.0:41234
+
## Class: dgram.Socket
-The dgram Socket class encapsulates the datagram functionality. It
-should be created via [`dgram.createSocket(...)`][]
+The `dgram.Socket` object is an [`EventEmitter`][] that encapsulates the
+datagram functionality.
+
+New instances of `dgram.Socket` are created using [`dgram.createSocket()`][].
+The `new` keyword is not to be used to create `dgram.Socket` instances.
### Event: 'close'
-Emitted after a socket is closed with [`close()`][]. No new `'message'` events will be emitted
-on this socket.
+The `'close'` event is emitted after a socket is closed with [`close()`][].
+Once triggered, no new `'message'` events will be emitted on this socket.
### Event: 'error'
* `exception` Error object
-Emitted when an error occurs.
+The `'error'` event is emitted whenever any error occurs. The event handler
+function is passed a single Error object.
### Event: 'listening'
-Emitted when a socket starts listening for datagrams. This happens as soon as UDP sockets
-are created.
+The `'listening'` event is emitted whenever a socket begins listening for
+datagram messages. This occurs as soon as UDP sockets are created.
### Event: 'message'
* `msg` Buffer object. The message
* `rinfo` Object. Remote address information
-Emitted when a new datagram is available on a socket. `msg` is a `Buffer` and
-`rinfo` is an object with the sender's address information:
+The `'message'` event is emitted when a new datagram is available on a socket.
+The event handler function is passed two arguments: `msg` and `rinfo`. The
+`msg` argument is a [`Buffer`][] and `rinfo` is an object with the sender's
+address information provided by the `address`, `family` and `port` properties:
socket.on('message', (msg, rinfo) => {
console.log('Received %d bytes from %s:%d\n',
* `multicastAddress` String
* `multicastInterface` String, Optional
-Tells the kernel to join a multicast group with `IP_ADD_MEMBERSHIP` socket option.
-
-If `multicastInterface` is not specified, the OS will try to add membership to all valid
-interfaces.
+Tells the kernel to join a multicast group at the given `multicastAddress`
+using the `IP_ADD_MEMBERSHIP` socket option. If the `multicastInterface`
+argument is not specified, the operating system will try to add membership to
+all valid networking interfaces.
### socket.address()
-Returns an object containing the address information for a socket. For UDP sockets,
-this object will contain `address` , `family` and `port`.
+Returns an object containing the address information for a socket.
+For UDP sockets, this object will contain `address`, `family` and `port`
+properties.
-### socket.bind([port][, address][, callback])
+### [socket.bind([port][, address][, callback])]
* `port` Integer, Optional
* `address` String, Optional
-* `callback` Function with no parameters, Optional. Callback when
- binding is done.
-
-For UDP sockets, listen for datagrams on a named `port` and optional
-`address`. If `port` is not specified, the OS will try to bind to a random
-port. If `address` is not specified, the OS will try to listen on
-all addresses. After binding is done, a `'listening'` event is emitted
-and the `callback`(if specified) is called. Specifying both a
-`'listening'` event listener and `callback` is not harmful but not very
+* `callback` Function with no parameters, Optional. Called when
+ binding is complete.
+
+For UDP sockets, causes the `dgram.Socket` to listen for datagram messages on a
+named `port` and optional `address`. If `port` is not specified, the operating
+system will attempt to bind to a random port. If `address` is not specified,
+the operating system will attempt to listen on all addresses. Once binding is
+complete, a `'listening'` event is emitted and the optional `callback` function
+is called.
+
+Note that specifying both a `'listening'` event listener and passing a
+`callback` to the `socket.bind()` method is not harmful but not very
useful.
A bound datagram socket keeps the Node.js process running to receive
-datagrams.
+datagram messages.
If binding fails, an `'error'` event is generated. In rare case (e.g.
-binding a closed socket), an [`Error`][] may be thrown by this method.
+attempting to bind with a closed socket), an [`Error`][] may be thrown.
Example of a UDP server listening on port 41234:
const dgram = require('dgram');
-
const server = dgram.createSocket('udp4');
server.on('error', (err) => {
* `exclusive` {Boolean} - Optional.
* `callback` {Function} - Optional.
-The `port` and `address` properties of `options`, as well as the optional
-callback function, behave as they do on a call to
-[`socket.bind(port, \[address\], \[callback\])`][].
+For UDP sockets, causes the `dgram.Socket` to listen for datagram messages on a
+named `port` and optional `address` that are passed as properties of an
+`options` object passed as the first argument. If `port` is not specified, the
+operating system will attempt to bind to a random port. If `address` is not
+specified, the operating system will attempt to listen on all addresses. Once
+binding is complete, a `'listening'` event is emitted and the optional
+`callback` function is called.
+
+The `options` object may contain an additional `exclusive` property that is
+use when using `dgram.Socket` objects with the [`cluster`] module. When
+`exclusive` is set to `false` (the default), cluster workers will use the same
+underlying socket handle allowing connection handling duties to be shared.
+When `exclusive` is `true`, however, the handle is not shared and attempted
+port sharing results in an error.
-If `exclusive` is `false` (default), then cluster workers will use the same
-underlying handle, allowing connection handling duties to be shared. When
-`exclusive` is `true`, the handle is not shared, and attempted port sharing
-results in an error. An example which listens on an exclusive port is
-shown below.
+An example socket listening on an exclusive port is shown below.
socket.bind({
address: 'localhost',
* `multicastAddress` String
* `multicastInterface` String, Optional
-Opposite of [`addMembership()`][] - tells the kernel to leave a multicast group with
-`IP_DROP_MEMBERSHIP` socket option. This is automatically called by the kernel
-when the socket is closed or process terminates, so most apps will never need to call
-this.
+Instructs the kernel to leave a multicast group at `multicastAddress` using the
+`IP_DROP_MEMBERSHIP` socket option. This method is automatically called by the
+kernel when the socket is closed or the process terminates, so most apps will
+never have reason to call this.
-If `multicastInterface` is not specified, the OS will try to drop membership to all valid
-interfaces.
+If `multicastInterface` is not specified, the operating system will attempt to
+drop membership on all valid interfaces.
### socket.send(buf, offset, length, port, address[, callback])
* `address` String. Destination hostname or IP address.
* `callback` Function. Called when the message has been sent. Optional.
-For UDP sockets, the destination port and address must be specified. A string
-may be supplied for the `address` parameter, and it will be resolved with DNS.
+Broadcasts a datagram on the socket. The destination `port` and `address` must
+be specified.
-If the address is omitted or is an empty string, `'0.0.0.0'` or `'::0'` is used
-instead. Depending on the network configuration, those defaults may or may not
-work; it's best to be explicit about the destination address.
+The `buf` argument is a [`Buffer`] object containing the message. The `offset`
+and `length` specify the offset within the `Buffer` where the message begins
+and the number of bytes in the message, respectively. With messages that
+contain multi-byte characters, `offset` and `length` will be calculated with
+respect to [byte length][] and not the character position.
-If the socket has not been previously bound with a call to `bind`, it gets
-assigned a random port number and is bound to the "all interfaces" address
+The `address` argument is a string. If the value of `address` is a host name,
+DNS will be used to resolve the address of the host. If the `address` is not
+specified or is an empty string, `'0.0.0.0'` or `'::0'` will be used instead.
+It is possible, depending on the network configuration, that these defaults
+may not work; accordingly, it is best to be explicit about the destination
+address.
+
+If the socket has not been previously bound with a call to `bind`, the socket
+is assigned a random port number and is bound to the "all interfaces" address
(`'0.0.0.0'` for `udp4` sockets, `'::0'` for `udp6` sockets.)
-An optional callback may be specified to detect DNS errors or for determining
-when it's safe to reuse the `buf` object. Note that DNS lookups delay the time
-to send for at least one tick. The only way to know for sure that the datagram
-has been sent is by using a callback. If an error occurs and a callback is
-given, the error will be the first argument to the callback. If a callback is
-not given, the error is emitted as an `'error'` event on the `socket` object.
+An optional `callback` function may be specified to as a way of reporting
+DNS errors or for determining when it is safe to reuse the `buf` object.
+Note that DNS lookups delay the time to send for at least one tick of the
+Node.js event loop.
-With consideration for multi-byte characters, `offset` and `length` will
-be calculated with respect to [byte length][] and not the character position.
+The only way to know for sure that the datagram has been sent is by using a
+`callback`. If an error occurs and a `callback` is given, the error will be
+passed as the first argument to the `callback`. If a `callback` is not given,
+the error is emitted as an `'error'` event on the `socket` object.
Example of sending a UDP packet to a random port on `localhost`;
**A Note about UDP datagram size**
-The maximum size of an `IPv4/v6` datagram depends on the `MTU` (_Maximum Transmission Unit_)
-and on the `Payload Length` field size.
+The maximum size of an `IPv4/v6` datagram depends on the `MTU`
+(_Maximum Transmission Unit_) and on the `Payload Length` field size.
-- The `Payload Length` field is `16 bits` wide, which means that a normal payload
- cannot be larger than 64K octets including internet header and data
+- The `Payload Length` field is `16 bits` wide, which means that a normal
+ payload exceed 64K octets _including_ the internet header and data
(65,507 bytes = 65,535 − 8 bytes UDP header − 20 bytes IP header);
- this is generally true for loopback interfaces, but such long datagrams
- are impractical for most hosts and networks.
+ this is generally true for loopback interfaces, but such long datagram
+ messages are impractical for most hosts and networks.
-- The `MTU` is the largest size a given link layer technology can support for datagrams.
- For any link, `IPv4` mandates a minimum `MTU` of `68` octets, while the recommended `MTU`
- for IPv4 is `576` (typically recommended as the `MTU` for dial-up type applications),
- whether they arrive whole or in fragments.
+- The `MTU` is the largest size a given link layer technology can support for
+ datagram messages. For any link, `IPv4` mandates a minimum `MTU` of `68`
+ octets, while the recommended `MTU` for IPv4 is `576` (typically recommended
+ as the `MTU` for dial-up type applications), whether they arrive whole or in
+ fragments.
For `IPv6`, the minimum `MTU` is `1280` octets, however, the mandatory minimum
- fragment reassembly buffer size is `1500` octets.
- The value of `68` octets is very small, since most current link layer technologies have
- a minimum `MTU` of `1500` (like Ethernet).
+ fragment reassembly buffer size is `1500` octets. The value of `68` octets is
+ very small, since most current link layer technologies, like Ethernet, have a
+ minimum `MTU` of `1500`.
-Note that it's impossible to know in advance the MTU of each link through which
-a packet might travel, and that generally sending a datagram greater than
-the (receiver) `MTU` won't work (the packet gets silently dropped, without
-informing the source that the data did not reach its intended recipient).
+It is impossible to know in advance the MTU of each link through which
+a packet might travel. Sending a datagram greater than the receiver `MTU` will
+not work because the packet will get silently dropped without informing the
+source that the data did not reach its intended recipient.
### socket.setBroadcast(flag)
* `flag` Boolean
-Sets or clears the `SO_BROADCAST` socket option. When this option is set, UDP packets
-may be sent to a local interface's broadcast address.
+Sets or clears the `SO_BROADCAST` socket option. When set to `true`, UDP
+packets may be sent to a local interface's broadcast address.
### socket.setMulticastLoopback(flag)
* `flag` Boolean
-Sets or clears the `IP_MULTICAST_LOOP` socket option. When this option is set, multicast
-packets will also be received on the local interface.
+Sets or clears the `IP_MULTICAST_LOOP` socket option. When set to `true`,
+multicast packets will also be received on the local interface.
### socket.setMulticastTTL(ttl)
* `ttl` Integer
-Sets the `IP_MULTICAST_TTL` socket option. TTL stands for "Time to Live", but in this
-context it specifies the number of IP hops that a packet is allowed to go through,
-specifically for multicast traffic. Each router or gateway that forwards a packet
-decrements the TTL. If the TTL is decremented to 0 by a router, it will not be forwarded.
+Sets the `IP_MULTICAST_TTL` socket option. While TTL generally stands for
+"Time to Live", in this context it specifies the number of IP hops that a
+packet is allowed to travel through, specifically for multicast traffic. Each
+router or gateway that forwards a packet decrements the TTL. If the TTL is
+decremented to 0 by a router, it will not be forwarded.
-The argument to `setMulticastTTL()` is a number of hops between 0 and 255. The default on most
-systems is 1.
+The argument passed to to `socket.setMulticastTTL()` is a number of hops
+between 0 and 255. The default on most systems is `1` but can vary.
### socket.setTTL(ttl)
* `ttl` Integer
-Sets the `IP_TTL` socket option. TTL stands for "Time to Live", but in this context it
-specifies the number of IP hops that a packet is allowed to go through. Each router or
-gateway that forwards a packet decrements the TTL. If the TTL is decremented to 0 by a
-router, it will not be forwarded. Changing TTL values is typically done for network
-probes or when multicasting.
+Sets the `IP_TTL` socket option. While TTL generally stands for "Time to Live",
+in this context it specifies the number of IP hops that a packet is allowed to
+travel through. Each router or gateway that forwards a packet decrements the
+TTL. If the TTL is decremented to 0 by a router, it will not be forwarded.
+Changing TTL values is typically done for network probes or when multicasting.
-The argument to `setTTL()` is a number of hops between 1 and 255. The default
-on most systems is 64.
+The argument to `socket.setTTL()` is a number of hops between 1 and 255.
+The default on most systems is 64 but can vary.
### socket.ref()
-Opposite of `unref`, calling `ref` on a previously `unref`d socket will *not*
-let the program exit if it's the only socket left (the default behavior). If
-the socket is `ref`d calling `ref` again will have no effect.
+By default, binding a socket will cause it to block the Node.js process from
+exiting as long as the socket is open. The `socket.unref()` method can be used
+to exclude the socket from the reference counting that keeps the Node.js
+process active. The `socket.ref()` method adds the socket back to the reference
+counting and restores the default behavior.
+
+Calling `socket.ref()` multiples times will have no additional effect.
-Returns `socket`.
+The `socket.ref()` method returns a reference to the socket so calls can be
+chained.
### socket.unref()
-Calling `unref` on a socket will allow the program to exit if this is the only
-active socket in the event system. If the socket is already `unref`d calling
-`unref` again will have no effect.
+By default, binding a socket will cause it to block the Node.js process from
+exiting as long as the socket is open. The `socket.unref()` method can be used
+to exclude the socket from the reference counting that keeps the Node.js
+process active, allowing the process to exit even if the socket is still
+listening.
+
+Calling `socket.unref()` multiple times will have no addition effect.
-Returns `socket`.
+The `socket.unref()` method returns a reference to the socket so calls can be
+chained.
-## dgram.createSocket(options[, callback])
+### Change to asynchronous `socket.bind()` behavior
+
+As of Node.js v0.10, [`dgram.Socket#bind()`][] changed to an asynchronous
+execution model. Legacy code that assumes synchronous behavior, as in the
+following example:
+
+ const s = dgram.createSocket('udp4');
+ s.bind(1234);
+ s.addMembership('224.0.0.114');
+
+Must be changed to pass a callback function to the [`dgram.Socket#bind()`][]
+function:
+
+ const s = dgram.createSocket('udp4');
+ s.bind(1234, () => {
+ s.addMembership('224.0.0.114');
+ });
+
+## `dgram` module functions
+
+### dgram.createSocket(options[, callback])
* `options` Object
* `callback` Function. Attached as a listener to `'message'` events.
* Returns: Socket object
-The `options` object should contain a `type` field of either `udp4` or `udp6`
-and an optional boolean `reuseAddr` field.
+Creates a `dgram.Socket` object. The `options` argument is an object that
+should contain a `type` field of either `udp4` or `udp6` and an optional
+boolean `reuseAddr` field.
When `reuseAddr` is `true` [`socket.bind()`][] will reuse the address, even if
another process has already bound a socket on it. `reuseAddr` defaults to
-`false`.
+`false`. An optional `callback` function can be passed specified which is added
+as a listener for `'message'` events.
-Takes an optional callback which is added as a listener for `'message'` events.
-
-Call [`socket.bind()`][] if you want to receive datagrams. [`socket.bind()`][] will
-bind to the "all interfaces" address on a random port (it does the right thing
-for both `udp4` and `udp6` sockets). You can then retrieve the address and port
-with [`socket.address().address`][] and [`socket.address().port`][].
+Once the socket is created, calling [`socket.bind()`][] will instruct the
+socket to begin listening for datagram messages. When `address` and `port` are
+not passed to [`socket.bind()`][] the method will bind the socket to the "all
+interfaces" address on a random port (it does the right thing for both `udp4`
+and `udp6` sockets). The bound address and port can be retrieved using
+[`socket.address().address`][] and [`socket.address().port`][].
## dgram.createSocket(type[, callback])
Optional
* Returns: Socket object
-Creates a datagram Socket of the specified types. Valid types are `udp4`
-and `udp6`.
-
-Takes an optional callback which is added as a listener for `'message'` events.
+Creates a `dgram.Socket` object of the specified `type`. The `type` argument
+can be either `udp4` or `udp6`. An optional `callback` function can be passed
+which is added as a listener for `'message'` events.
-Call [`socket.bind()`][] if you want to receive datagrams. [`socket.bind()`][] will
-bind to the "all interfaces" address on a random port (it does the right thing
-for both `udp4` and `udp6` sockets). You can then retrieve the address and port
-with [`socket.address().address`][] and [`socket.address().port`][].
+Once the socket is created, calling [`socket.bind()`][] will instruct the
+socket to begin listening for datagram messages. When `address` and `port` are
+not passed to [`socket.bind()`][] the method will bind the socket to the "all
+interfaces" address on a random port (it does the right thing for both `udp4`
+and `udp6` sockets). The bound address and port can be retrieved using
+[`socket.address().address`][] and [`socket.address().port`][].
+[`EventEmitter`]: events.html
+[`Buffer`]: buffer.html
[`'close'`]: #dgram_event_close
[`addMembership()`]: #dgram_socket_addmembership_multicastaddress_multicastinterface
[`close()`]: #dgram_socket_close_callback
-[`dgram.createSocket(...)`]: #dgram_dgram_createsocket_options_callback
+[`dgram.createSocket()`]: #dgram_dgram_createsocket_options_callback
[`dgram.Socket#bind()`]: #dgram_socket_bind_options_callback
[`Error`]: errors.html#errors_class_error
[`socket.address().address`]: #dgram_socket_address
[`socket.address().port`]: #dgram_socket_address
[`socket.bind()`]: #dgram_socket_bind_port_address_callback
-[`socket.bind(port, \[address\], \[callback\])`]: #dgram_socket_bind_port_address_callback
[byte length]: buffer.html#buffer_class_method_buffer_bytelength_string_encoding
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