The services file is a local source of information regarding each service available through the Internet. The services file can be used in conjunction with or instead of other services sources, including the NIS maps ‘services.byname’ and the NIS + table ‘services.‘ Programs use the getservbyname(3N) routines to access this information.
The services file contains an entry for each service. Each entry has the form:
Fields can be separated by any number of SPACE and/or TAB characters. A ‘#’ (number sign) indicates the beginning of a comment; characters up to the end of the line are not interpreted by routines which search the file.
Service names may contain any printable character other than a field delimiter, NEWLINE , or comment character.