MBSRTOWCS(3P)

💖 MBSRTOWCS(3P) 💖

okay so bestie, this one is straight out of the POSIX Programmer's Manual (you know, the 3P shelf 🌸). And before we even get into it, a lil heads up with main-character energy: the Linux implementation of this interface may differ — so if you're on Linux, go read the corresponding Linux manual page for the actual deets — or, plot twist, the interface might not even be implemented on Linux at all. 💀 Vibe check your platform first, fr fr.

🚨 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. (yes I said it twice, it's that important 🫶)

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✨ NAME ✨

mbsnrtowcs, mbsrtowcs — convert a character string to a wide-character string (restartable)

like... glow-ups but for bytes 🦋

📜 SYNOPSIS 📜

#include <wchar.h>

size_t mbsnrtowcs(wchar_t *restrict dst, const char **restrict src,
    size_t nmc, size_t len, mbstate_t *restrict ps);
size_t mbsrtowcs(wchar_t *restrict dst, const char **restrict src,
    size_t len, mbstate_t *restrict ps);

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🧚 DESCRIPTION 🧚

the mbsrtowcs() of it all

For mbsrtowcs(): the functionality described on this reference page is aligned with the ISO C standard. Any conflict between the requirements described here and the ISO C standard is unintentional. This volume of POSIX.1‐2017 defers to the ISO C standard. periodt. 💅

The mbsrtowcs() function shall convert a sequence of characters, beginning in the conversion state described by the object pointed to by ps, from the array indirectly pointed to by src into a sequence of corresponding wide characters. If dst is not a null pointer, the converted characters shall be stored into the array pointed to by dst. Conversion continues up to and including a terminating null character, which shall also be stored. Conversion shall stop early in either of the following cases:

• A sequence of bytes is encountered that does not form a valid character. (rude)
• len codes have been stored into the array pointed to by dst (and dst is not a null pointer).

Each conversion shall take place as if by a call to the mbrtowc() function. iconic teamwork honestly

If dst is not a null pointer, the pointer object pointed to by src shall be assigned either a null pointer (if conversion stopped due to reaching a terminating null character) or the address just past the last character converted (if any). If conversion stopped due to reaching a terminating null character, and if dst is not a null pointer, the resulting state described shall be the initial conversion state. reset era 🎀

If ps is a null pointer, the mbsrtowcs() function shall use its own internal mbstate_t object, which is 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.

and now the mbsnrtowcs() variant 👑

The mbsnrtowcs() function shall be equivalent to the mbsrtowcs() function, except that the conversion of characters indirectly pointed to by src is limited to at most nmc bytes (the size of the input buffer), and under conditions where mbsrtowcs() would assign the address just past the last character converted (if any) to the pointer object pointed to by src, mbsnrtowcs() shall instead assign the address just past the last byte processed (if any) to that pointer object. If the input buffer ends with an incomplete character, it is unspecified whether conversion stops at the end of the previous character (if any), or at the end of the input buffer. In the latter case, a subsequent call to mbsnrtowcs() with an input buffer that starts with the remainder of the incomplete character shall correctly complete the conversion of that character. cliffhanger resolved, we love a two-parter 🌈

the fine print bestie ✨

The behavior of these functions shall be affected by the LC_CTYPE category of the current locale.

The implementation shall behave as if no function defined in this volume of POSIX.1‐2017 calls these functions.

The mbsnrtowcs() and mbsrtowcs() functions need not be thread-safe if called with a NULL ps argument. be careful out here in multithreaded land 😭

The mbsrtowcs() function shall not change the setting of errno if successful. so polite of it 🫶

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🎀 RETURN VALUE 🎀

If the input conversion encounters a sequence of bytes that do not form a valid character, an encoding error occurs. In this case, these functions shall store the value of the macro [EILSEQ] in errno and shall return (size_t)-1; the conversion state is undefined. Otherwise, these functions shall return the number of characters successfully converted, not including the terminating null (if any).

💀 ERRORS 💀

These functions shall fail if:

• EILSEQ — An invalid character sequence is detected. In the POSIX locale an [EILSEQ] error cannot occur since all byte values are valid characters. POSIX locale stays unbothered, we love that for it

These functions may fail if:

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

The following sections are informative.

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🌸 EXAMPLES 🌸

None. no examples, just vibes 💅

🦋 APPLICATION USAGE 🦋

None.

💜 RATIONALE 💜

None.

⭐ FUTURE DIRECTIONS ⭐

A future version may require that when the input buffer ends with an incomplete character, conversion stops at the end of the input buffer. so like... watch this space 👀

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• iconv()
• mbrtowc()
• mbsinit()

The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2017, <wchar.h>

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📝 COPYRIGHT 📝

Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright (C) 2018 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 .

Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of the source files to man page format. To report such errors, see https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .

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and that's the whole page bestie!! brought to you by IEEE/The Open Group, 2017 — mwah, go touch some wide characters 💖✨🎀