NAME
lsearch, lfind
— linear searching
routines
SYNOPSIS
#include
<search.h>
char *
lsearch(const
void *key, void
*base, size_t
*nelp, size_t
width, int
(*compar)(const void *, const void *));
char *
lfind(const
void *key, const void
*base, size_t
*nelp, size_t
width, int
(*compar)(const void *, const void *));
DESCRIPTION
The functions
lsearch()
and
lfind()
provide basic linear searching functionality.
base is the pointer to the beginning of an array. The argument nelp is the current number of elements in the array, where each element is width bytes long. The compar function is a comparison routine which is used to compare two elements. It takes two arguments which point to the key object and to an array member, in that order, and must return an integer less than, equivalent to, or greater than zero if the key object is considered, respectively, to be less than, equal to, or greater than the array member.
The
lsearch()
and
lfind()
functions return a pointer into the array referenced by
base where key is located. If
key does not exist, lfind()
will return a null pointer and lsearch() will add it
to the array. When an element is added to the array by
lsearch(), the location referenced by the argument
nelp is incremented by one.
SEE ALSO
STANDARDS
The lsearch() and
lfind() functions conform to the
IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 (“POSIX.1”) and
specifications.