=====Finding the host IP address=====

//by Richard Russell, May 2007//\\ \\  It is easy to discover the host PC's network name using the **FN_gethostname** function in the [[http://www.bbcbasic.co.uk/bbcwin/manual/bbcwing.html#socklib|SOCKLIB]] library, but there is no equivalent function for discovering its **IP** (Internet Protocol) **address**. However that can easily be achieved using a little code:\\ \\ 
<code bb4w>
        INSTALL @lib$+"SOCKLIB"
        PROC_initsockets

        hostent% = FN_sethost(FN_gethostname)
        hostip% = !!hostent%!12
</code>
The code sets **hostip%** to the host IP address; note the use of three exclamation marks! The **INSTALL** and **PROC_initsockets** statements are included here for completeness, but of course it is quite likely that your program has already executed them earlier in the code.\\ \\  If you need the IP address as a string you can create that from **hostip%** as follows:\\ \\ 
<code bb4w>
        SYS `inet_ntoa`, hostip% TO lpszip%
        hostip$ = $$lpszip%
</code>
This will set **hostip$** to a string in the conventional 'dot' notation "aa.bb.cc.dd".