strerror

STRERROR(3)               OpenBSD Programmer's Manual              STRERROR(3)

NAME

     strerror - get error message string

SYNOPSIS

     #include <string.h>

     char *
     strerror(int errnum);

     int
     strerror_r(int errnum, char *strerrbuf, size_t buflen);

DESCRIPTION

     The strerror() and strerror_r() functions map the error number errnum to
     a language-dependent error message string.

     strerror() returns a string containing a maximum of NL_TEXTMAX
     characters, including the trailing NUL.  This string is not to be
     modified by the calling program, but may be overwritten by subsequent
     calls to strerror().

     strerror_r() is a thread safe version of strerror() that places the error
     message in the specified buffer strerrbuf.

RETURN VALUES

     strerror() returns a pointer to the error message string.  If an error
     occurs, the error code is stored in errno.

     strerror_r() returns zero upon successful completion.  If an error
     occurs, the error code is stored in errno and the error code is returned.

ERRORS

     strerror() and strerror_r() may fail if:

     [EINVAL]           errnum is not a valid error number.  The returned
                        error string will consist of an error message that
                        includes errnum.

     strerror_r() may fail if:

     [ERANGE]           The error message is larger than buflen characters.
                        The message will be truncated to fit.

SEE ALSO

     intro(2), perror(3), setlocale(3)

STANDARDS

     The strerror() function conforms to ANSI X3.159-1989 (``ANSI C89'').  The
     strerror_r() function conforms to IEEE Std 1003.1 (``POSIX.1'').

HISTORY

     The strerror() function first appeared in 4.3BSD-Reno.  The strerror_r()
     function first appeared in OpenBSD 3.3.

OpenBSD 5.1                      July 25, 2011                     OpenBSD 5.1