gethostip

gethostip hostname

hostname
    The hostname or domain name to resolve to an IP address.

The `gethostip` command is a simple utility in Linux used to resolve hostnames to their corresponding IP addresses. It takes a hostname as input and returns the associated IPv4 address. Its functionality is similar to `host` or `nslookup`, but `gethostip` is designed for basic IP address retrieval for use in shell scripts and simpler automation. It provides a more direct and uncomplicated output, making it easier to parse in scripts.

The tool relies on the system's configured name resolution mechanisms (usually via `/etc/nsswitch.conf` and DNS servers specified in `/etc/resolv.conf`) to perform the hostname lookup. It will return the first IPv4 address it finds associated with the hostname. If no IPv4 address is found or the hostname cannot be resolved, `gethostip` will typically exit with an error.

gethostip is usually not available on modern Linux distributions. It's considered obsolete in favor of `host` command.

To get the IP address of `example.com`, you would run: `gethostip example.com`. The command will print the IP address of example.com to standard output.

If the hostname does not exist or cannot be resolved, `gethostip` will typically exit with a non-zero exit code, indicating an error. Check the return code in your scripts for robust error handling. As it does not exist in modern Linux system, the script will return 'command not found' error.

The exact history of `gethostip` is somewhat unclear, but it was a simpler utility for hostname resolution, commonly used in shell scripts where a lightweight and easy-to-parse output was preferred. It has largely been superseded by more feature-rich and widely available tools like `host` from the `bind-utils` package or `dig`.

host(1), nslookup(1), dig(1)