When using the nameserver, gethostbyname() and gethostbyname2() will
search for the named host in the current domain and its parents unless
the name ends in a dot. If the name contains no dot, and if the environ-
ment variable ``HOSTALIASES'' contains the name of an alias file, the
alias file will first be searched for an alias matching the input name.
See hostname(7) for the domain search procedure and the alias file for-
mat.