Content-type: text/html Man page of setbuf

setbuf

Section: C Library Functions (3)
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NAME

setbuf, setvbuf, setvbuf_unlocked, setbuffer, setlinebuf - Assign buffering to a stream  

LIBRARY

Standard C Library (libc.so, libc.a)  

SYNOPSIS

#include <stdio.h>

void setbuf(
        FILE *stream,
        char *buffer);

int setvbuf(
        FILE *stream,
        char *buffer,
        int mode,
        size_t size);

int setvbuf_unlocked(
        FILE *stream,
        char *buffer,
        int mode,
        size_t size);

void setbuffer(
        FILE *stream,
        char *buffer,
        int size);

void setlinebuf(
        FILE *stream);  

STANDARDS

Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to industry standards as follows:

setbuf(), setvbuf():  XPG4, XPG4-UNIX

Refer to the standards(5) reference page for more information about industry standards and associated tags.  

PARAMETERS

Specifies the input/output stream. Points to a character array. Determines how the stream parameter is buffered. Specifies the size of the buffer to be used.  

DESCRIPTION

The setbuf() function causes the character array pointed to by the buffer parameter to be used instead of an automatically allocated buffer. Use the setbuf() function after a stream has been opened but before it is read or written.

If the buffer parameter is a null pointer, input/output is unbuffered.

A constant, BUFSIZ, defined in the stdio.h header file, tells how large an array is needed:

char buf[BUFSIZ];

For the setvbuf() function, the mode parameter determines how the stream parameter is buffered: Causes input/output to be fully buffered. Causes output to be line buffered. The buffer is flushed when a new line is written, the buffer is full, or input is requested. Causes input/output to be completely unbuffered.

If the buffer parameter is not a null pointer, the array that the parameter points to is used for buffering instead of a buffer that is automatically allocated. The size parameter specifies the size of the buffer to be used. The constant BUFSIZ in the stdio.h header file is one buffer size. If input/output is unbuffered, the buffer and size parameters are ignored.

The setbuffer() function, an alternate form of the setbuf() function, is used after stream has been opened but before it is read or written. The character array buffer, whose size is determined by the size parameter, is used instead of an automatically allocated buffer. If the buffer parameter is a null pointer, input/output is completely unbuffered.

The setbuffer() function is not needed under normal circumstances, since the default file I/O buffer size is optimal.

The setlinebuf() function is used to change stdout or stderr from block buffered or unbuffered to line buffered. Unlike the setbuf() and setbuffer() functions, the setlinebuf() function can be used any time the file descriptor is active.

A buffer is normally obtained from the malloc() function at the time of the first getc() or putc() function on the file, except that the standard error stream, stderr, is normally not buffered.

Output streams directed to terminals are always either line buffered or unbuffered.

The setvbuf_unlocked() function is functionally identical to the setvbuf() function, except that setvbuf_unlocked() may be safely used only within a scope that is protected by the flockfile() and funlockfile() functions used as a pair. The caller must ensure that the stream is locked before these functions are used.  

RETURN VALUES

The setvbuf() and setvbuf_unlocked() functions return zero when successful. If they cannot honor the request, or if you give an invalid value in the mode argument, they return a nonzero value.  

NOTES

A common source of error is allocating buffer space as an automatic variable in a code block, and then failing to close the stream in the same block.  

ERRORS

If the following condition occurs, the setvbuf() function sets errno to the corresponding value. The file descriptor that underlies stream is invalid.  

RELATED INFORMATION

Functions: fopen(3), fread(3), getc(3), getwc(3), malloc(3), putc(3), putwc(3)

Standards: standards(5) delim off


 

Index

NAME
LIBRARY
SYNOPSIS
STANDARDS
PARAMETERS
DESCRIPTION
RETURN VALUES
NOTES
ERRORS
RELATED INFORMATION

This document was created by man2html, using the manual pages.
Time: 02:40:47 GMT, October 02, 2010