MBRTOWC(3P)

PROLOG
This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. The Linux implementation of this interface may differ (consult the corresponding Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may not be implemented on Linux.

NAME
mbrtowc - convert a character to a wide-character code (restartable)

SYNOPSIS

#include <wchar.h>

size_t mbrtowc(wchar_t *restrict pwc, const char *restrict s,
size_t n, mbstate_t *restrict ps);

DESCRIPTION

If s is a null pointer, the mbrtowc() function shall be equivalent to the call:

    mbrtowc(NULL, "", 1, ps)

In this case, the values of the arguments pwc and n are ignored.

If s is not a null pointer, the mbrtowc() function shall inspect at most n bytes beginning at the byte pointed to by s to determine the number of bytes needed to complete the next character (including any shift sequences). If the function determines that the next character is completed, it shall determine the value of the corresponding wide character and then, if pwc is not a null pointer, shall store that value in the object pointed to by pwc. If the corresponding wide character is the null wide character, the resulting state described shall be the initial conversion state.

If ps is a null pointer, the mbrtowc() function shall use its own internal mbstate_t object, which shall be initialized at program start-up to the initial conversion state. Otherwise, the mbstate_t object pointed to by ps shall be used to completely describe the current conversion state of the associated character sequence. The implementation shall behave as if no function defined in this volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 calls mbrtowc().

The behavior of this function is affected by the LC_CTYPE category of the current locale.

RETURN VALUE

The mbrtowc() function shall return the first of the following that applies:

0   If the next n or fewer bytes complete the character that corresponds to the null wide character (which is the value stored).

between 1 and n inclusive

    If the next n or fewer bytes complete a valid character (which is the value stored); the value returned shall be the number of bytes that complete the character.

(size_t)-2
    If the next n bytes contribute to an incomplete but potentially valid character, and all n bytes have been processed (no value is stored). When n has at least the value of the {MB_CUR_MAX} macro, this case can only occur if s points at a sequence of redundant shift sequences (for implementations with state-dependent encodings).

(size_t)-1
    If an encoding error occurs, in which case the next n or fewer bytes do not contribute to a complete and valid character (no value is stored). In this case, [EILSEQ] shall be stored in errno and the conversion state is undefined.

ERRORS

The mbrtowc() function may fail if:

EINVAL
    ps points to an object that contains an invalid conversion state.

EILSEQ
    Invalid character sequence is detected.

The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES

None.

APPLICATION USAGE

None.

RATIONALE

None.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

None.

SEE ALSO

mbsinit(), the Base Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, <wchar.h>

COPYRIGHT
Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .