1BASENAME(3P)               POSIX Programmer's Manual              BASENAME(3P)
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PROLOG

6       This  manual  page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The Linux
7       implementation of this interface may differ (consult the  corresponding
8       Linux  manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may
9       not be implemented on Linux.
10

NAME

12       basename - return the last component of a pathname
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SYNOPSIS

15       #include <libgen.h>
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17       char *basename(char *path);
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DESCRIPTION

21       The basename() function shall take the pathname pointed to by path  and
22       return  a  pointer to the final component of the pathname, deleting any
23       trailing '/' characters.
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25       If the string consists entirely of the '/' character, basename()  shall
26       return  a pointer to the string "/" . If the string is exactly "//", it
27       is implementation-defined whether '/' or "//" is returned.
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29       If path is a null pointer or points  to  an  empty  string,  basename()
30       shall return a pointer to the string "." .
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32       The  basename()  function may modify the string pointed to by path, and
33       may return a pointer to static storage that may then be overwritten  by
34       a subsequent call to basename().
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36       The  basename()  function need not be reentrant. A function that is not
37       required to be reentrant is not required to be thread-safe.
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RETURN VALUE

40       The basename() function shall return a pointer to the  final  component
41       of path.
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ERRORS

44       No errors are defined.
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46       The following sections are informative.
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EXAMPLES

49   Using basename()
50       The  following  program  fragment  returns  a pointer to the value lib,
51       which is the base name of /usr/lib.
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54              #include <libgen.h>
55              ...
56              char *name = "/usr/lib";
57              char *base;
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60              base = basename(name);
61              ...
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63   Sample Input and Output Strings for basename()
64       In the following table, the input string is the  value  pointed  to  by
65       path, and the output string is the return value of the basename() func‐
66       tion.
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68                           Input String     Output String
69                           "/usr/lib"       "lib"
70                           "/usr/"          "usr"
71                           "/"              "/"
72                           "///"            "/"
73                           "//usr//lib//"   "lib"
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APPLICATION USAGE

76       None.
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RATIONALE

79       None.
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FUTURE DIRECTIONS

82       None.
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SEE ALSO

85       dirname(), the Base Definitions volume of  IEEE Std 1003.1-2001,  <lib‐
86       gen.h>,  the  Shell and Utilities volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, base‐
87       name
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90       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in  electronic  form
91       from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technology
92       -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX),  The  Open  Group  Base
93       Specifications  Issue  6,  Copyright  (C) 2001-2003 by the Institute of
94       Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open  Group.  In  the
95       event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and
96       The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group  Standard
97       is  the  referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online
98       at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .
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102IEEE/The Open Group                  2003                         BASENAME(3P)
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