PROLOG | NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | RETURN VALUE | ERRORS | EXAMPLES | APPLICATION USAGE | RATIONALE | FUTURE DIRECTIONS | SEE ALSO | COPYRIGHT

STRCPY(3P)                POSIX Programmer's Manual               STRCPY(3P)

PROLOG         top

       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.

NAME         top

       stpcpy, strcpy — copy a string and return a pointer to the end of the
       result

SYNOPSIS         top

       #include <string.h>
       char *stpcpy(char *restrict s1, const char *restrict s2);
       char *strcpy(char *restrict s1, const char *restrict s2);

DESCRIPTION         top

       For strcpy(): 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.1‐2008 defers to the ISO C standard.
       The stpcpy() and strcpy() functions shall copy the string pointed to
       by s2 (including the terminating NUL character) into the array
       pointed to by s1.
       If copying takes place between objects that overlap, the behavior is
       undefined.

RETURN VALUE         top

       The stpcpy() function shall return a pointer to the terminating NUL
       character copied into the s1 buffer.
       The strcpy() function shall return s1.
       No return values are reserved to indicate an error.

ERRORS         top

       No errors are defined.
       The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES         top

   Construction of a Multi-Part Message in a Single Buffer
           #include <string.h>
           #include <stdio.h>
           int
           main (void)
           {
               char buffer [10];
               char *name = buffer;
               name = stpcpy (stpcpy (stpcpy (name, "ice"),"-"), "cream");
               puts (buffer);
               return 0;
           }
   Initializing a String
       The following example copies the string "----------" into the
       permstring variable.
           #include <string.h>
           ...
           static char permstring[11];
           ...
           strcpy(permstring, "----------");
           ...
   Storing a Key and Data
       The following example allocates space for a key using malloc() then
       uses strcpy() to place the key there. Then it allocates space for
       data using malloc(), and uses strcpy() to place data there. (The
       user-defined function dbfree() frees memory previously allocated to
       an array of type struct element *.)
           #include <string.h>
           #include <stdlib.h>
           #include <stdio.h>
           ...
           /* Structure used to read data and store it. */
           struct element {
               char *key;
               char *data;
           };
           struct element *tbl, *curtbl;
           char *key, *data;
           int count;
           ...
           void dbfree(struct element *, int);
           ...
           if ((curtbl->key = malloc(strlen(key) + 1)) == NULL) {
               perror("malloc"); dbfree(tbl, count); return NULL;
           }
           strcpy(curtbl->key, key);
           if ((curtbl->data = malloc(strlen(data) + 1)) == NULL) {
               perror("malloc"); free(curtbl->key); dbfree(tbl, count); return NULL;
           }
           strcpy(curtbl->data, data);
           ...

APPLICATION USAGE         top

       Character movement is performed differently in different
       implementations. Thus, overlapping moves may yield surprises.
       This version is aligned with the ISO C standard; this does not affect
       compatibility with XPG3 applications. Reliable error detection by
       this function was never guaranteed.

RATIONALE         top

       None.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS         top

       None.

SEE ALSO         top

       strncpy(3p), wcscpy(3p)
       The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2008, string.h(0p)

COPYRIGHT         top

       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form
       from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2013 Edition, Standard for Information
       Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open
       Group Base Specifications Issue 7, Copyright (C) 2013 by the
       Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open
       Group.  (This is POSIX.1-2008 with the 2013 Technical Corrigendum 1
       applied.) 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.unix.org/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 .
IEEE/The Open Group                 2013                          STRCPY(3P)

Pages that refer to this page: string.h(0p)localeconv(3p)stpcpy(3p)strncpy(3p)wcscpy(3p)