strcpy(3p) — Linux manual page

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.1‐2017 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.1‐2017, string.h(0p)

COPYRIGHT         top

       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 .

IEEE/The Open Group               2017                        STRCPY(3P)

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