explain_strtoul_or_die(3)

💖 explain_strtoul_or_die(3) — Library Functions Manual 💖

okay bestie, gather round, because this one is a libexplain page and it's literally about converting strings to unsigned long and screaming about it if it goes wrong. it lives in the <libexplain/strtoul.h> cinematic universe and it's giving "I will not let you silently eat an error." we love a supportive king. 👑

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✨ NAME ✨

explain_strtoul_or_die — convert string to unsigned long and report errors

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <libexplain/strtoul.h>
unsigned long explain_strtoul_or_die(const char *nptr, char **endptr,
int base);
unsigned long explain_strtoul_on_error(const char *nptr, char **endptr,
int base))

(and yes, that stray extra ) at the end of the second one is exactly how it's written in the original, no cap, I'm not touching it 🫶)

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so. explain_strtoul_or_die is the function you call when you want to call the strtoul(3) system call, but you also want receipts. if it fails, an explanation gets printed to stderr — and that explanation comes straight from the explain_strtoul(3) function — and then the process terminates by calling exit(EXIT_FAILURE). dramatic? yes. effective? also yes. 💀

and then there's explain_strtoul_on_error, which is the gentler sibling. it's also used to call the strtoul(3) system call, and on failure it also prints an explanation to stderr obtained from explain_strtoul(3) — but then it still returns to the caller. no exit, no drama, just vibes and a return value. 😌

here's who's who in the argument lineup:

• nptr — the nptr, passed exactly as it would be to the strtoul(3) system call. same energy, no changes.
• endptr — the endptr, passed exactly as it would be to the strtoul(3) system call.
• base — the base, passed exactly as it would be to the strtoul(3) system call. base 10? base 16? base whatever-you-want? yes ma'am, it goes through untouched. 💅

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⭐ RETURN VALUE ⭐

explain_strtoul_or_die only returns on success — peep strtoul(3) for the deets on that. on failure it prints an explanation and exits, so like… it does not return. it's gone. it left the chat. 👋

explain_strtoul_on_error always returns the value returned by the wrapped strtoul(3) system call. always. it's consistent like that. 🎀

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🌈 EXAMPLE 🌈

explain_strtoul_or_die is meant to be used in a fashion similar to this iconic little moment:

unsigned long result = explain_strtoul_or_die(nptr, endptr, base);

clean. simple. no notes. ✨

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• strtoul(3) — convert a string to an unsigned long integer
• explain_strtoul(3) — explain strtoul(3) errors
• exit(2) — terminate the calling process

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💜 COPYRIGHT 💜

this is libexplain version 1.4, and the copyright belongs to Copyright (C) 2009 Peter Miller.

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okay that's the whole page, bestie, you're officially an explain_strtoul_or_die expert now, go forth and never eat a silent error again 🧚

and that's a wrap on explain_strtoul_or_die(3), from the Library Functions Manual — brought to you by libexplain version 1.4, copyright 2009 Peter Miller. slay, protect your error handling, bye bestie! 💖🦋🌸