BSON_ITER_SYMBOL(3)

💅 BSON_ITER_SYMBOL(3) 💅

okay so bestie, welcome to the libbson corner of the universe — this one's a lil vintage, a lil deprecated, but still iconic in its own way. let's get into it 🎀

---

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

const char *
bson_iter_symbol (const bson_iter_t *iter, uint32_t *length);

---

🌸 PARAMETERS 🌸

• iter — a bson_iter_t. literally the iterator you're poking at, no cap 🫶
• length — a uint32_t. it's the pointer where the length info goes, we'll get to that 💅

---

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay first things first, and I need you to hear me on this one: the symbol element type is DEPRECATED in the bson specification over at http://bsonspec.org. like, it's giving legacy. it's giving "we don't really do this anymore." so keep that in mind before you go building your whole personality around it 😭

that said — the bson_iter_symbol() function shall return the contents of a BSON_TYPE_SYMBOL element. that's the whole job. it just hands you the symbol, periodt ✨

and if length is non-NULL, then length will be set to the length of the resulting string. if it's NULL, nothing happens, no drama, we simply don't touch it 💜

---

👑 RETURNS 👑

the symbol is returned, and length is set. that's it, that's the vibe check ✅

lowkey important reminder: length only gets set if it's non-NULL. don't come for me if you passed NULL and got nothing back 🙈

---

🌈 AUTHOR 🌈

MongoDB, Inc — the masterminds behind all this 🫡

---

🎀 COPYRIGHT 🎀

2009-present, MongoDB, Inc. — protect it, respect it 💖

---

and that's the whole page, bestie!! libbson 2.5.6, Oct 09, 2026 — screenshot it, cite it, slay it 💅✨🍓