READDIR_R

NAME

SYNOPSIS

#include <dirent.h>

int readdir_r(DIR *restrict dirp, struct dirent *restrict entry,
              struct dirent **restrict result);

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

readdir_r():

    _POSIX_C_SOURCE
        || /* Glibc <= 2.19: */ _BSD_SOURCE || _SVID_SOURCE

DESCRIPTION

The readdir_r() function was invented as a reentrant version of readdir(3). It reads the next directory entry from the directory stream dirp, and returns it in the caller-allocated buffer pointed to by entry. For details of the dirent structure, see readdir(3).

A pointer to the returned buffer is placed in *result; if the end of the directory stream was encountered, then NULL is instead returned in *result.

It is recommended that applications use readdir(3) instead of readdir_r(). Furthermore, since version 2.24, glibc deprecates readdir_r(). The reasons are as follows:

*

On systems where NAME_MAX is undefined, calling readdir_r() may be unsafe because the interface does not allow the caller to specify the length of the buffer used for the returned directory entry.

*

On some systems, readdir_r() can't read directory entries with very long names. When the glibc implementation encounters such a name, readdir_r() fails with the error ENAMETOOLONG after the final directory entry has been read. On some other systems, readdir_r() may return a success status, but the returned d_name field may not be null terminated or may be truncated.

*

In the current POSIX.1 specification (POSIX.1-2008), readdir(3) is not required to be thread-safe. However, in modern implementations (including the glibc implementation), concurrent calls to readdir(3) that specify different directory streams are thread-safe. Therefore, the use of readdir_r() is generally unnecessary in multithreaded programs. In cases where multiple threads must read from the same directory stream, using readdir(3) with external synchronization is still preferable to the use of readdir_r(), for the reasons given in the points above.

*

It is expected that a future version of POSIX.1 will make readdir_r() obsolete, and require that readdir(3) be thread-safe when concurrently employed on different directory streams.

RETURN VALUE

ERRORS

EBADF

Invalid directory stream descriptor dirp.

ENAMETOOLONG

A directory entry whose name was too long to be read was encountered.

ATTRIBUTES

CONFORMING TO

SEE ALSO

COLOPHON

Index

NAME

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

RETURN VALUE

ERRORS

ATTRIBUTES

CONFORMING TO

SEE ALSO

COLOPHON