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strerror

Section: C Library Functions (3)
Updated: 202-0-08
Index Return to Main Contents

NAME

strerror, strerrorname_np, strerrordesc_np, strerror_r, strerror_l - return string describing error number

LIBRARY

Standard C library (libc,~-lc)

SYNOPSIS

#include <string.h>
char *strerror(int errnum);
const char *strerrorname_np(int errnum);
const char *strerrordesc_np(int errnum);
int strerror_r(size_t size;
               int errnum, char buf[size], size_t size);
               /* XS-compliant */
char *strerror_r(size_t size;
               int errnum, char buf[size], size_t size);
               /* GN-specific */
char *strerror_l(int errnum, locale_t locale);

Feature Test Macro Requirements for glibc (see feature_test_macros(7)): strerrorname_np(), strerrordesc_np():

    _GNU_SOURCE

strerror_r():

    The XS-compliant version is provided if:
        (_POSIX_C_SOURCE >= 200112L) && ! _GNU_SOURCE
    Otherwise, the GN-specific version is provided.

DESCRIPTION

The strerror() function returns a pointer to a string that describes the error code passed in the argument errnum, possibly using the LC_MESSAGES part of the current locale to select the appropriate language. (For example, if errnum is EINVAL, the returned description will be "Invalid argument".) This string must not be modified by the application, and the returned pointer will be invalidated on a subsequent call to strerror() or strerror_l(), or if the thread that obtained the string exits. No other library function, including perror(3), will modify this string. Like strerror(), the strerrordesc_np() function returns a pointer to a string that describes the error code passed in the argument errnum, with the difference that the returned string is not translated according to the current locale. The strerrorname_np() function returns a pointer to a string containing the name of the error code passed in the argument errnum. For example, given EPERM as an argument, this function returns a pointer to the string "EPERM". Given 0 as an argument, this function returns a pointer to the string "0".

strerror_r()

strerror_r() is like strerror(), but might use the supplied buffer buf instead of allocating one internally. This function is available in two versions: an XS-compliant version specified in POSIX.-2001 (available since glibc 2.3.4, but not POSI-compliant until glibc 2.13), and a GN-specific version (available since glibc 2.0). The XS-compliant version is provided with the feature test macros settings shown in the SYNOPSIS; otherwise the GN-specific version is provided. If no feature test macros are explicitly defined, then (since glibc 2.4) _POSIX_C_SOURCE is defined by default with the value 200112L, so that the XS-compliant version of strerror_r() is provided by default. The XS-compliant strerror_r() is preferred for portable applications. It returns the error string in the use-supplied buffer buf of size size. The GN-specific strerror_r() returns a pointer to a string containing the error message. This may be either a pointer to a string that the function stores in buf, or a pointer to some (immutable) static string (in which case buf is unused). If the function stores a string in buf, then at most size bytes are stored (the string may be truncated if size is too small and errnum is unknown). The string always includes a terminating null byte ([aq][rs]0[aq]).

strerror_l()

strerror_l() is like strerror(), but maps errnum to a local-dependent error message in the locale specified by locale. The behavior of strerror_l() is undefined if locale is the special locale object LC_GLOBAL_LOCALE or is not a valid locale object handle.

RETURN VALUE

The strerror(), strerror_l(), and the GN-specific strerror_r() functions return the appropriate error description string, or an "Unknown error nnn" message if the error number is unknown. On success, strerrorname_np() and strerrordesc_np() return the appropriate error description string. If errnum is an invalid error number, these functions return NULL. The XS-compliant strerror_r() function returns 0 on success. On error, a (positive) error number is returned (since glibc 2.13), or -1 is returned and errno is set to indicate the error (before glibc 2.13). POSIX.-2001 and POSIX.-2008 require that a successful call to strerror() or strerror_l() shall leave errno unchanged, and note that, since no function return value is reserved to indicate an error, an application that wishes to check for errors should initialize errno to zero before the call, and then check errno after the call.

ERRORS

EINVAL: The value of errnum is not a valid error number.
ERANGE: Insufficient storage was supplied to contain the error description string.

ATTRIBUTES

For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see attributes(7).

Interface	Attribute	Value
strerror()	Thread safety	M-Safe
strerrorname_np(), strerrordesc_np()	Thread safety	M-Safe
strerror_r(), strerror_l()	Thread safety	M-Safe

Before glibc 2.32, strerror() is not M-Safe.

STANDARDS

strerror(): C11, POSIX.-2008.
strerror_r(): strerror_l() POSIX.-2008.
strerrorname_np(): strerrordesc_np() GNU. POSIX.-2001 permits strerror() to set errno if the call encounters an error, but does not specify what value should be returned as the function result in the event of an error. On some systems, strerror() returns NULL if the error number is unknown. On other systems, strerror() returns a string something like "Error nnn occurred" and sets errno to EINVAL if the error number is unknown. C99 and POSIX.-2008 require the return value to be no-NULL.