loopback interface and byte order

[Robert Lowe <Robert.H.Lowe () lawrence edu>]

Hi!

In testing a small app using libpcap, I noticed differences in behaviour when
using the loopback interface vs. using a hardware interface.  In particular,
it seems the packets coming in over the loopback interface are still in host
byte order (little endian, in this case).  Is that typical, or just an
OS-dependent artifact?  In trying to find the answer, I came across a function
in the pcap library, pcap_datalink().  If I really wanted my app to work using
the loopback interface, I assume I would use this function to determine whether
or not to invoke byte order altering functions.  But yikes, it really looks
like it could get messy in a hurry.  Do most people just not bother, or do they
really attempt some kind of portability?  Are there any clean examples?

TIA,
Robert


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