The system-supplied getent
tool is a CLI interface to the C API that can be used for querying DBIS in the same way as any other NSS map, provided that the [Name Service Switch] configuration has been completed first.
Here is a comparison of using the [Client Tool] (in short output mode) and using the system-supplied getent
tool on a password entry:
$ dbis getpwnam mark mark:x:801:900:Bannister, Mark:/home/mark:/bin/bash $ getent passwd mark mark:x:801:900:Bannister, Mark:/home/mark:/bin/bash
Here is another comparison on a group entry:
$ dbis getgrgid 900 prostaff:x:900: $ getent group 900 prostaff:x:900:
The getent
command uses the C API which invokes the NSS library, which in turn connects to dbis-cachemgr
via the NSS socket. The [Client Tool] uses the Python API which connects directly to dbis-cachemgr
via the client socket.
Note that the [Client Tool] provides more functionality than getent
and allows all DBIS maps to be queried, whereas getent
is restricted to those configured in the [Name Service Switch] file.
For more information on the other components of DBIS, see [Using DBIS].
Wiki: Client Tool
Wiki: Name Service Switch
Wiki: Using DBIS