setbuf(3) Library Functions Manual setbuf(3)
NAME
setbuf, setbuffer, setlinebuf, setvbuf - stream buffering operations
LIBRARY
Standard C library (libc, -lc)
SYNOPSIS
#include <stdio.h>
int setvbuf(FILE *restrict stream, char buf[restrict .size],
int mode, size_t size);
void setbuf(FILE *restrict stream, char *restrict buf);
void setbuffer(FILE *restrict stream, char buf[restrict .size],
size_t size);
void setlinebuf(FILE *stream);
Feature Test Macro Requirements for glibc (see feature_test_macros(7)):
setbuffer(), setlinebuf():
Since glibc 2.19:
_DEFAULT_SOURCE
glibc 2.19 and earlier:
_BSD_SOURCE
DESCRIPTION
The three types of buffering available are unbuffered, block buffered,
and line buffered. When an output stream is unbuffered, information ap-
pears on the destination file or terminal as soon as written; when it is
block buffered, many characters are saved up and written as a block;
when it is line buffered, characters are saved up until a newline is
output or input is read from any stream attached to a terminal device
(typically stdin). The function fflush(3) may be used to force the
block out early. (See fclose(3).)
Normally all files are block buffered. If a stream refers to a terminal
(as stdout normally does), it is line buffered. The standard error
stream stderr is always unbuffered by default.
The setvbuf() function may be used on any open stream to change its
buffer. The mode argument must be one of the following three macros:
_IONBF unbuffered
_IOLBF line buffered
_IOFBF fully buffered
Except for unbuffered files, the buf argument should point to a buffer
at least size bytes long; this buffer will be used instead of the cur-
rent buffer. If the argument buf is NULL, only the mode is affected; a
new buffer will be allocated on the next read or write operation. The
setvbuf() function may be used only after opening a stream and before
any other operations have been performed on it.
The other three calls are, in effect, simply aliases for calls to
setvbuf(). The setbuf() function is exactly equivalent to the call
setvbuf(stream, buf, buf ? _IOFBF : _IONBF, BUFSIZ);
The setbuffer() function is the same, except that the size of the buffer
is up to the caller, rather than being determined by the default BUFSIZ.
The setlinebuf() function is exactly equivalent to the call:
setvbuf(stream, NULL, _IOLBF, 0);
RETURN VALUE
The function setvbuf() returns 0 on success. It returns nonzero on
failure (mode is invalid or the request cannot be honored). It may set
errno on failure.
The other functions do not return a value.
ATTRIBUTES
For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see attributes(7).
┌────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────┬─────────┐
│ Interface │ Attribute │ Value │
├────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────┼─────────┤
│ setbuf(), setbuffer(), setlinebuf(), │ Thread safety │ MT-Safe │
│ setvbuf() │ │ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────┴───────────────┴─────────┘
STANDARDS
setbuf()
setvbuf()
C11, POSIX.1-2008.
HISTORY
setbuf()
setvbuf()
C89, POSIX.1-2001.
CAVEATS
POSIX notes that the value of errno is unspecified after a call to set-
buf() and further notes that, since the value of errno is not required
to be unchanged after a successful call to setbuf(), applications should
instead use setvbuf() in order to detect errors.
BUGS
You must make sure that the space that buf points to still exists by the
time stream is closed, which also happens at program termination. For
example, the following is invalid:
#include <stdio.h>
int
main(void)
{
char buf[BUFSIZ];
setbuf(stdout, buf);
printf("Hello, world!\n");
return 0;
}
SEE ALSO
stdbuf(1), fclose(3), fflush(3), fopen(3), fread(3), malloc(3),
printf(3), puts(3)
Linux man-pages 6.9.1 2024-06-15 setbuf(3)
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