UI_STRING(3ossl)

📦
version 15.1 · 2 versions
, in freebsd 15.1

✨ NAME ✨

okay so this page is UI_STRING(3ossl) — the whole user interface string parsing situation — and it covers the entire squad: UI_STRING, UI_string_types, UI_get_string_type, UI_get_input_flags, UI_get0_output_string, UI_get0_action_string, UI_get0_result_string, UI_get_result_string_length, UI_get0_test_string, UI_get_result_minsize, UI_get_result_maxsize, UI_set_result, UI_set_result_ex. literally all of them bestie 💅

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

#include <openssl/ui.h>

typedef struct ui_string_st UI_STRING;

enum UI_string_types {
    UIT_NONE = 0,
    UIT_PROMPT,                 /* Prompt for a string */
    UIT_VERIFY,                 /* Prompt for a string and verify */
    UIT_BOOLEAN,                /* Prompt for a yes/no response */
    UIT_INFO,                   /* Send info to the user */
    UIT_ERROR                   /* Send an error message to the user */
};

enum UI_string_types UI_get_string_type(UI_STRING *uis);
int UI_get_input_flags(UI_STRING *uis);
const char *UI_get0_output_string(UI_STRING *uis);
const char *UI_get0_action_string(UI_STRING *uis);
const char *UI_get0_result_string(UI_STRING *uis);
int UI_get_result_string_length(UI_STRING *uis);
const char *UI_get0_test_string(UI_STRING *uis);
int UI_get_result_minsize(UI_STRING *uis);
int UI_get_result_maxsize(UI_STRING *uis);
int UI_set_result(UI *ui, UI_STRING *uis, const char *result);
int UI_set_result_ex(UI *ui, UI_STRING *uis, const char *result, int len);

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so the UI_STRING gets created internally and added to a UI whenever one of these icons gets called:

  • UI_add_input_string()
  • UI_dup_input_string()
  • UI_add_verify_string()
  • UI_dup_verify_string()
  • UI_add_input_boolean()
  • UI_dup_input_boolean()
  • UI_add_info_string()
  • UI_dup_info_string()
  • UI_add_error_string()
  • UI_dup_error_string()

if you're a UI_METHOD user, honestly that's all you need to know, you're done, go touch grass 🫶

but if you're a UI_METHOD creator? oh you're so main character. you get to fetch text from these UI_STRING objects and add results to some of them. iykyk.

💜 the getters (aka the vibe check squad)

UI_get_string_type() retrieves the type of the given UI_STRING. yes bestie, the actual type.

UI_get_input_flags() retrieves the flags associated with the given UI_STRING.

UI_get0_output_string() retrieves the actual string to output — prompt, info, error, whatever the moment calls for.

UI_get0_action_string() retrieves the action description associated with a UIT_BOOLEAN type UI_STRING. for literally every other UI_STRING type it returns NULL. see UI_add_input_boolean(3) for the lore.

UI_get0_result_string() and UI_get_result_string_length() retrieve the result of a prompt and its length. this is only useful for UIT_PROMPT and UIT_VERIFY type strings. for all other UI_STRING types, UI_get0_result_string() returns NULL and UI_get_result_string_length() returns -1. not me crying at the -1 😭

UI_get0_test_string() retrieves the string to compare the prompt result with. only useful for UIT_VERIFY type strings, and for all other UI_STRING types, NULL is returned.

UI_get_result_minsize() and UI_get_result_maxsize() retrieve the minimum and maximum required size of the result. only useful for UIT_PROMPT and UIT_VERIFY type strings — for all other UI_STRING types, -1 is returned.

🎀 setting results, the moment of truth

UI_set_result_ex() sets the result value of a prompt and its length. let's break it down, slay by slay:

  • for UIT_PROMPT and UIT_VERIFY type UI strings, this sets the result retrievable with UI_get0_result_string() by copying the contents of result if its length fits the minimum and maximum size requirements.
  • for UIT_BOOLEAN type UI strings, this sets the first character of the result retrievable with UI_get0_result_string() to the first ok_char given with UI_add_input_boolean() or UI_dup_input_boolean() if the result matched any of them, or the first of the cancel_chars if the result matched any of them — otherwise it's set to the NUL char "\0".
  • see UI_add_input_boolean(3) for more info on ok_chars and cancel_chars.

UI_set_result() does the same thing as UI_set_result_ex(), but it calculates its length internally. it expects the string to be terminated with a NUL byte, and is therefore only useful with normal C strings. periodt.

👑 RETURN VALUES 👑

  • UI_get_string_type() — returns the UI string type.
  • UI_get_input_flags() — returns the UI string flags.
  • UI_get0_output_string() — returns the UI string output string.
  • UI_get0_action_string() — returns the UI string action description string for UIT_BOOLEAN type UI strings, NULL for any other type.
  • UI_get0_result_string() — returns the UI string result buffer for UIT_PROMPT and UIT_VERIFY type UI strings, NULL for any other type.
  • UI_get_result_string_length() — returns the UI string result buffer's content length for UIT_PROMPT and UIT_VERIFY type UI strings, -1 for any other type.
  • UI_get0_test_string() — returns the UI string action description string for UIT_VERIFY type UI strings, NULL for any other type.
  • UI_get_result_minsize() — returns the minimum allowed result size for the UI string for UIT_PROMPT and UIT_VERIFY type strings, -1 for any other type.
  • UI_get_result_maxsize() — returns the minimum allowed result size for the UI string for UIT_PROMPT and UIT_VERIFY type strings, -1 for any other type. (fr fr, that's what the page says — "minimum". i'm just the messenger 💀)
  • UI_set_result() — returns 0 on success or when the UI string is of any type other than UIT_PROMPT, UIT_VERIFY or UIT_BOOLEAN, and -1 on error.

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

  • UI(3) — go read it, bestie, it's giving essential context 💖

Copyright 2001-2018 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.

Licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (the "License"). You may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You can obtain a copy in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at <https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.

and that's the whole page, bestie 🎀 this one's version 3.5.6, dated 2026-04-07, and it's UI_STRING(3ossl) signing off — mwah 💋✨

📦 where this page comes from