ustrncpy(3alleg4)

📦 version 4.4.3.1, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 ustrncpy 💖

okay bestie, so this one is a page from the Allegro manual (that's the Allegro game programming library, the 3alleg4 section of the man pages, if you're keeping track 🎀), and honestly? it's giving "copy a string but make it size-aware." let's get into it.

✨ NAME ✨

ustrncpy — copies a string into another one, and you get to specify the size. part of the Allegro game programming library. slay 💅

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <allegro.h>

char *ustrncpy(char *dest, const char *src, int n);

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so basically, this function is like ustrcpy() except that it will not copy more than n characters from src into dest. that's the whole vibe: you're the one setting the limit. 👑

and here's the cute part: if src is shorter than n characters, null characters get appended to dest as padding until n characters have been written. so it fills the whole thing out. no gaps, no drama. 🫶

⚠️ okay but listen, this is the important bit: if src is longer than n characters, then dest will not be null-terminated. not a little bit. not kind of. it just won't be. so like... know what you're doing, bestie 😭

💜 RETURN VALUE 💜

the return value is the value of dest. that's it. it just hands you back the pointer you gave it. iconic behaviour honestly ✨

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

and that's the whole page, bestie!! this one came from the Allegro manual, version 4.4.3 — so if you're citing it, that's the version, and the man page section is 3alleg4 (that's the header it lives under up top and the footer it signs off with down bottom). go forth and copy strings responsibly 💖✨🎀🦋🌸💅

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