lfind(3) - f38

1lsearch(3)                 Library Functions Manual                 lsearch(3)
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NAME

6       lfind, lsearch - linear search of an array
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LIBRARY

9       Standard C library (libc, -lc)
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SYNOPSIS

12       #include <search.h>
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14       void *lfind(const void key[.size], const void base[.size * .nmemb],
15                   size_t *nmemb, size_t size,
16                   int(*compar)(const void [.size], const void [.size]));
17       void *lsearch(const void key[.size], void base[.size * .nmemb],
18                   size_t *nmemb, size_t size,
19                   int(*compar)(const void [.size], const void [.size]));
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DESCRIPTION

22       lfind() and lsearch() perform a linear search for key in the array base
23       which has *nmemb elements of size bytes each.  The comparison  function
24       referenced  by  compar is expected to have two arguments which point to
25       the key object and to an array member, in that order, and which returns
26       zero if the key object matches the array member, and nonzero otherwise.
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28       If  lsearch()  does not find a matching element, then the key object is
29       inserted at the end of the table, and *nmemb is incremented.   In  par‐
30       ticular,  one  should know that a matching element exists, or that more
31       room is available.
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RETURN VALUE

34       lfind() returns a pointer to a matching member of the array, or NULL if
35       no match is found.  lsearch() returns a pointer to a matching member of
36       the array, or to the newly added member if no match is found.
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ATTRIBUTES

39       For an  explanation  of  the  terms  used  in  this  section,  see  at‐
40       tributes(7).
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42       ┌────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────┬─────────┐
43       │Interface                                   │ Attribute     │ Value   │
44       ├────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────┼─────────┤
45       │lfind(), lsearch()                          │ Thread safety │ MT-Safe │
46       └────────────────────────────────────────────┴───────────────┴─────────┘
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STANDARDS

49       POSIX.1-2008.
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HISTORY

52       POSIX.1-2001, SVr4, 4.3BSD.  libc-4.6.27.
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BUGS

55       The naming is unfortunate.
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