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iconv(3)
NAME
iconv - Convert a string of characters from one codeset to another codeset
SYNOPSIS
The following syntax is for pre-XSH5.0-compliant interfaces on Tru64 UNIX
V4 and V5 systems:
#include <iconv.h>
size_t iconv(
iconv_t cd,
const char **inbuf,
size_t *inbytesleft,
char **outbuf,
size_t *outbytesleft );
The following syntax is for pre-V4 Tru64 UNIX systems and XSH5.0-compliant
interfaces on V5 systems:
#include <iconv.h>
size_t iconv(
iconv_t cd,
char **inbuf,
size_t *inbytesleft,
char **outbuf,
size_t *outbytesleft );
LIBRARY
The iconv library (libiconv)
STANDARDS
Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to industry standards
as follows:
iconv(): XSH4.0, XSH4.2, XSH5.0
Refer to the standards(5) reference page for more information about
industry standards and associated tags.
PARAMETERS
cd Specifies the conversion descriptor that points to the correct codeset
converter
inbuf
Points to a variable that points to the beginning of a buffer that
contains the characters to be converted
inbytesleft
Points to an integer that contains the number of bytes in inbuf still
to be converted
outbuf
Points to a variable that points to the buffer that contains the
characters that have been converted
outbytesleft
Points to an integer that contains the number of free bytes in outbuf
DESCRIPTION
The iconv() function converts a string of characters in inbuf into a
different codeset and returns the results in outbuf. The required converter
is identified by cd, which must be a valid descriptor returned by a
previous successful call to the iconv_open() function.
On calling, the inbytesleft parameter indicates the number of bytes in
inbuf to be converted and outbytesleft indicates the number of available
bytes in outbuf.
For codesets that include shift-state sequences, a call to iconv() in which
inbuf is or points to a null pointer places the cd conversion descriptor
into its initial shift state. In this case, as long as outbuf is not (or
does not point to) a null pointer, the call places in outbuf the byte
sequence that changes the output buffer to its initial shift state. If the
output buffer is not large enough to hold the entire reset sequence, the
call fails and sets errno to [E2BIG]. Any subsequent calls in which inbuf
is not (or does not point to) a null pointer cause the conversion to take
place from the current state of the conversion descriptor. See the
RESTRICTIONS section for information about support of shift-state encoding.
If a sequence of input bytes does not form a character that is valid in the
input codeset, conversion stops after the previous successfully converted
character. If the input buffer ends with an incomplete character or shift
sequence, conversion stops after the last byte sequence that was
successfully converted to a character. If the output is not large enough to
hold the entire sequence of converted characters, conversion stops just
prior to the input byte sequence that would cause the output buffer to
overflow.
On return from the call:
· The inbuf value is updated to point to the byte following the last
byte used successfully in conversion
· The inbytesleft value is decremented to reflect the number of input
bytes still not converted
· The outbuf value is updated to point to the byte following the last
output byte of successfully converted data
· The outbytesleft value is decremented to reflect the number of bytes
still available in the output buffer.
· For codesets that include shift-state encoding, the conversion
descriptor is updated to reflect the shift state in effect at the end
of the last successfully converted byte sequence.
It is possible for input data to include a character that is valid in the
input codeset but for which an identical character does not exist in the
output codeset. The output character for such cases is defined by the
converter that iconv() applies when converting from one particular codeset
to another. In other words, the output character in this case can vary
from one codeset converter to another.
RESTRICTIONS
Currently, the operating system does not include locales whose codesets use
shift-state encoding. Some sections of this reference page refer to
iconv() behavior with respect to conversion of shift sequences. This
information is included only for your convenience in developing portable
applications that run on multiple platforms, some of which may supply
locales whose codesets do use shift-state encoding.
RETURN VALUES
The iconv() function updates the variables pointed to by the call arguments
to reflect the extent of the conversion and returns the number of non-
identical conversions performed. If the function is successful and converts
the entire input string, the value pointed to by inbytesleft will be 0
(zero).
If an error occurs, the function returns (size_t)-1 and sets errno to
indicate the condition.
ERRORS
If any of the following conditions occur, the iconv() function sets errno
to the corresponding value:
[E2BIG]
The outbuf buffer is too small to contain all the converted characters.
The character that causes the overflow is not converted and inbytesleft
indicates the bytes left to be converted, including the character that
caused the overflow. The inbuf parameter points to the first byte of
the characters left to convert.
[EBADF]
The cd parameter does not specify a valid converter descriptor.
[EILSEQ]
An input character does not belong to the input codeset. No conversion
is attempted on the invalid character and inbytesleft indicates the
bytes left to be converted, including the first byte of the invalid
character. The inbuf parameter points to the first byte of the invalid
character sequence.
The values of outbuf and outbytesleft are updated according to the
number of characters that were previously converted.
[EINVAL]
The last character or shift sequence in the inbuf parameter was not
complete. The inbytesleft parameter indicates the number of input bytes
still not converted.
SEE ALSO
Functions: iconv_close(3), iconv_open(3)
Commands: iconv(1), genxlt(1)
Others: iconv_intro(5), standards(5)
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