tail head cat sleep
QR code linking to this page

Manual Pages  — FGETS

NAME

fgets, gets, gets_s – get a line from a stream

CONTENTS

LIBRARY

Standard C Library (libc, -lc)

SYNOPSIS

#include <stdio.h>

char *
fgets(char * restrict str, int size, FILE * restrict stream);

char *
gets_s(char *str, rsize_t size);

char *
gets(char *str);

DESCRIPTION

The fgets() function reads at most one less than the number of characters specified by size from the given stream and stores them in the string str. Reading stops when a newline character is found, at end-of-file or error. The newline, if any, is retained. If any characters are read and there is no error, a ‘\0’ character is appended to end the string.

The gets_s() function is equivalent to fgets() with a stream of stdin, except that the newline character (if any) is not stored in the string.

The gets() function is equivalent to fgets() with an infinite size and a stream of stdin, except that the newline character (if any) is not stored in the string. It is the caller's responsibility to ensure that the input line, if any, is sufficiently short to fit in the string.

RETURN VALUES

Upon successful completion, fgets(), gets_s(), and gets() return a pointer to the string. If end-of-file occurs before any characters are read, they return NULL and the buffer contents remain unchanged. If an error occurs, they return NULL and the buffer contents are indeterminate. The fgets(), gets_s(), and gets() functions do not distinguish between end-of-file and error, and callers must use feof(3) and ferror(3) to determine which occurred.

ERRORS

[EBADF]
  The given stream is not a readable stream.

The function fgets() may also fail and set errno for any of the errors specified for the routines fflush(3), fstat(2), read(2), or malloc(3).

The function gets() and gets_s() may also fail and set errno for any of the errors specified for the routine getchar(3).

SEE ALSO

feof(3), ferror(3), fgetln(3), fgetws(3), getline(3)

STANDARDS

The functions fgets() and gets() conform to ISO/IEC 9899:1999 ("ISO C99"). gets_s() conforms to ISO/IEC K.3.7.4.1. gets() has been removed from ISO/IEC .

SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS

The gets() function cannot be used securely. Because of its lack of bounds checking, and the inability for the calling program to reliably determine the length of the next incoming line, the use of this function enables malicious users to arbitrarily change a running program's functionality through a buffer overflow attack. It is strongly suggested that the fgets() function be used in all cases.

FGETS (3) April 3, 2018

tail head cat sleep
QR code linking to this page


Please direct any comments about this manual page service to Ben Bullock. Privacy policy.