STRNCPY(3P)

PROLOG
This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. The Linux implementation of this interface may differ (consult the corresponding Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may not be implemented on Linux.

NAME
stpncpy, strncpy — copy fixed length string, returning a pointer to the array end

SYNOPSIS

#include <string.h>

char *stpncpy(char *restrict s1, const char *restrict s2, size_t n);
char *strncpy(char *restrict s1, const char *restrict s2, size_t n);

DESCRIPTION
For strncpy(): The functionality described on this reference page is aligned with the ISO C standard. Any conflict between the requirements described here and the ISO C standard is unintentional. This volume of POSIX.1-2017 defers to the ISO C standard.

The stpncpy() and strncpy() functions shall copy not more than n bytes (bytes that follow a NUL character are not copied) from the array pointed to by s2 to the array pointed to by s1.

If the array pointed to by s2 is a string that is shorter than n bytes, NUL characters shall be appended to the copy in the array pointed to by s1, until n bytes in all are written.

If copying takes place between objects that overlap, the behavior is undefined.

RETURN VALUE
If a NUL character is written to the destination, the stpncpy() function shall return the address of the first such NUL character. Otherwise, it shall return &s1[n].

The strncpy() function shall return s1.

No return values are reserved to indicate an error.

ERRORS
No errors are defined.

The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES
None.

APPLICATION USAGE
Applications must provide the space in s1 for the n bytes to be transferred, as well as ensure that the s2 and s1 arrays do not overlap.

Character movement is performed differently in different implementations. Thus, overlapping moves may yield surprises.

If there is no NUL character byte in the first n bytes of the array pointed to by s2, the result is not null-terminated.

RATIONALE
None.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS
None.

SEE ALSO
strcpy(), wcsncpy()

The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1-2017, <string.h>

COPYRIGHT
Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright (C) 2018 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of the source files to man page format. To report such errors, see https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .