s A socket descriptor created as the result of a call to accept() or connect(). buf A pointer to a user-provided buffer into which received data will be placed. len The size of the buffer pointed to by buf. flags A bit mask that can contain one or more of the following flags. The mask is built by using a logical OR operation on the appropriate values. Flag Description MSG_OOB Allows you to receive out-of-band data. If out-of-band data is available, it is read first. If no out-of-band data is available, the MSG_OOB flag is ignored. Use the send(), sendmsg(), and sendto() functions to send out-of-band data. MSG_PEEK Allows you to examine data in the receive buffer without removing it from the system's buffers.