GETC(3)                  BSD Library Functions Manual                  GETC(3)

NAME
     fgetc, getc, getc_unlocked, getchar, getchar_unlocked, getw -- get next
     character or word from input stream

LIBRARY
     Standard C Library (libc, -lc)

SYNOPSIS
     #include <stdio.h>

     int
     fgetc(FILE *stream);

     int
     getc(FILE *stream);

     int
     getc_unlocked(FILE *stream);

     int
     getchar(void);

     int
     getchar_unlocked(void);

     int
     getw(FILE *stream);

DESCRIPTION
     The fgetc() function obtains the next input character (if present) from
     the stream pointed at by stream, or the next character pushed back on the
     stream via ungetc(3).

     The getc() function acts essentially identically to fgetc(), but is a
     macro that expands in-line.

     The getchar() function is equivalent to getc(stdin).

     The getw() function obtains the next int (if present) from the stream
     pointed at by stream.

     The getc_unlocked() and getchar_unlocked() functions are equivalent to
     getc() and getchar() respectively, except that the caller is responsible
     for locking the stream with flockfile(3) before calling them.  These
     functions may be used to avoid the overhead of locking the stream for
     each character, and to avoid input being dispersed among multiple threads
     reading from the same stream.

RETURN VALUES
     If successful, these routines return the next requested object from the
     stream.  Character values are returned as an unsigned char converted to
     an int.  If the stream is at end-of-file or a read error occurs, the rou-
     tines return EOF.  The routines feof(3) and ferror(3) must be used to
     distinguish between end-of-file and error.  If an error occurs, the
     global variable errno is set to indicate the error.  The end-of-file con-
     dition is remembered, even on a terminal, and all subsequent attempts to
     read will return EOF until the condition is cleared with clearerr(3).

SEE ALSO
     ferror(3), flockfile(3), fopen(3), fread(3), getwc(3), putc(3), ungetc(3)

STANDARDS
     The fgetc(), getc(), and getchar() functions conform to ISO/IEC 9899:1990
     (``ISO C90'').  The getc_unlocked() and getchar_unlocked() functions con-
     form to IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 (``POSIX.1'').

BUGS
     Since EOF is a valid integer value, feof(3) and ferror(3) must be used to
     check for failure after calling getw().  The size and byte order of an
     int varies from one machine to another, and getw() is not recommended for
     portable applications.

BSD                            January 10, 2003                            BSD