1FNMATCH(3P) POSIX Programmer's Manual FNMATCH(3P)
2
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
12 fnmatch — match a filename string or a pathname
13
15 #include <fnmatch.h>
16 int fnmatch(const char *pattern, const char *string, int flags);
18
20 The fnmatch() function shall match patterns as described in the Shell
21 and Utilities volume of POSIX.1‐2017, Section 2.13.1, Patterns Matching
22 a Single Character and Section 2.13.2, Patterns Matching Multiple Char‐
23 acters. It checks the string specified by the string argument to see
24 if it matches the pattern specified by the pattern argument.
25 The flags argument shall modify the interpretation of pattern and
27 string. It is the bitwise-inclusive OR of zero or more of the flags
28 defined in <fnmatch.h>. If the FNM_PATHNAME flag is set in flags, then
29 a <slash> character ('/') in string shall be explicitly matched by a
30 <slash> in pattern; it shall not be matched by either the <asterisk> or
31 <question-mark> special characters, nor by a bracket expression. If the
32 FNM_PATHNAME flag is not set, the <slash> character shall be treated as
33 an ordinary character.
34 If FNM_NOESCAPE is not set in flags, a <backslash> character in pattern
36 followed by any other character shall match that second character in
37 string. In particular, "\\" shall match a <backslash> in string. If
38 pattern ends with an unescaped <backslash>, fnmatch() shall return a
39 non-zero value (indicating either no match or an error). If
40 FNM_NOESCAPE is set, a <backslash> character shall be treated as an
41 ordinary character.
42 If FNM_PERIOD is set in flags, then a leading <period> ('.') in string
44 shall match a <period> in pattern; as described by rule 2 in the Shell
45 and Utilities volume of POSIX.1‐2017, Section 2.13.3, Patterns Used for
46 Filename Expansion where the location of ``leading'' is indicated by
47 the value of FNM_PATHNAME:
48 * If FNM_PATHNAME is set, a <period> is ``leading'' if it is the
50 first character in string or if it immediately follows a <slash>.
51 * If FNM_PATHNAME is not set, a <period> is ``leading'' only if it is
53 the first character of string.
54 If FNM_PERIOD is not set, then no special restrictions are placed on
56 matching a period.
57
59 If string matches the pattern specified by pattern, then fnmatch()
60 shall return 0. If there is no match, fnmatch() shall return
61 FNM_NOMATCH, which is defined in <fnmatch.h>. If an error occurs,
62 fnmatch() shall return another non-zero value.
63
65 No errors are defined.
66 The following sections are informative.
68
70 None.
71
73 The fnmatch() function has two major uses. It could be used by an
74 application or utility that needs to read a directory and apply a pat‐
75 tern against each entry. The find utility is an example of this. It can
76 also be used by the pax utility to process its pattern operands, or by
77 applications that need to match strings in a similar manner.
78 The name fnmatch() is intended to imply filename match, rather than
80 pathname match. The default action of this function is to match file‐
81 name strings, rather than pathnames, since it gives no special signifi‐
82 cance to the <slash> character. With the FNM_PATHNAME flag, fnmatch()
83 does match pathnames, but without tilde expansion, parameter expansion,
84 or special treatment for a <period> at the beginning of a filename.
85
87 This function replaced the REG_FILENAME flag of regcomp() in early pro‐
88 posals of this volume of POSIX.1‐2017. It provides virtually the same
89 functionality as the regcomp() and regexec() functions using the
90 REG_FILENAME and REG_FSLASH flags (the REG_FSLASH flag was proposed for
91 regcomp(), and would have had the opposite effect from FNM_PATHNAME),
92 but with a simpler function and less system overhead.
93
95 None.
96
98 glob(), Section 2.6, Word Expansions
99 The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2017, <fnmatch.h>
101
103 Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form
104 from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard for Information Technology -- Por‐
105 table Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifi‐
106 cations Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright (C) 2018 by the Institute of
107 Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the
108 event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and
109 The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard
110 is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online
111 at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .
112 Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are
114 most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of the source
115 files to man page format. To report such errors, see https://www.ker‐
116 nel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .
117IEEE/The Open Group 2017 FNMATCH(3P)