wctype(3) Library Functions Manual wctype(3)
NAME
wctype - wide-character classification
LIBRARY
Standard C library (libc, -lc)
SYNOPSIS
#include <wctype.h>
wctype_t wctype(const char *name);
DESCRIPTION
The wctype_t type represents a property which a wide character may or
may not have. In other words, it represents a class of wide characters.
This type's nature is implementation-dependent, but the special value
(wctype_t) 0 denotes an invalid property. Nonzero wctype_t values can
be passed to the iswctype(3) function to actually test whether a given
wide character has the property.
The wctype() function returns a property, given by its name. The set of
valid names depends on the LC_CTYPE category of the current locale, but
the following names are valid in all locales.
"alnum" - realizes the isalnum(3) classification function
"alpha" - realizes the isalpha(3) classification function
"blank" - realizes the isblank(3) classification function
"cntrl" - realizes the iscntrl(3) classification function
"digit" - realizes the isdigit(3) classification function
"graph" - realizes the isgraph(3) classification function
"lower" - realizes the islower(3) classification function
"print" - realizes the isprint(3) classification function
"punct" - realizes the ispunct(3) classification function
"space" - realizes the isspace(3) classification function
"upper" - realizes the isupper(3) classification function
"xdigit" - realizes the isxdigit(3) classification function
RETURN VALUE
The wctype() function returns a property descriptor if the name is
valid. Otherwise, it returns (wctype_t) 0.
ATTRIBUTES
For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see attributes(7).
┌─────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────┬────────────────┐
│ Interface │ Attribute │ Value │
├─────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────┤
│ wctype() │ Thread safety │ MT-Safe locale │
└─────────────────────────────────────┴───────────────┴────────────────┘
STANDARDS
C11, POSIX.1-2008.
HISTORY
POSIX.1-2001, C99.
NOTES
The behavior of wctype() depends on the LC_CTYPE category of the current
locale.
SEE ALSO
iswctype(3)
Linux man-pages 6.9.1 2024-05-02 wctype(3)
Generated by dwww version 1.16 on Tue Dec 16 05:03:12 CET 2025.