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fnmatch(3) Library Functions Manual fnmatch(3) NAME fnmatch - Matches filename patterns LIBRARY Standard C Library (libc.so, libc.a) SYNOPSIS #include <fnmatch.h> int fnmatch( const char *pattern, const char *string, int flags); STANDARDS Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to industry stan- dards as follows: fnmatch(): XPG4, XPG4-UNIX Refer to the standards(5) reference page for more information about in- dustry standards and associated tags. PARAMETERS Contains the pattern to which the string parameter is to be compared. Contains the string to be compared against the pattern parameter. Con- tains a bit flag specifying the configurable attributes of the compari- son to be performed by the fnmatch function. The flags parameter modifies the interpretation of the pattern and string parameters. It is the bitwise inclusive OR (|) of 0 (zero) or more of the following flags, which are defined in the fnmatch.h file. Slash in the string parameter only matches slash in the pattern parame- ter. Leading period in the string parameter must be exactly matched by period in the pattern parameter. Unless FNM_NOESCAPE is set, preceding a character in pattern with a \ (backslash character) causes fnmatch() to match that character in string. For example, \\ matches a backslash in string. If FNM_NOESCAPE is set, \ (backslash) is interpreted as an ordinary character. If the FNM_PATHNAME flag is set in the flags parameter, a / (slash) in the string parameter is explicitly matched by a / in the pattern para- meter. It is not matched by either the * (asterisk) or ? (question- mark) special characters, nor by a bracket expression. If the FNM_PATHNAME flag is not set, the / is treated as an ordinary charac- ter. If FNM_PERIOD is set in the flags parameter, then a leading period in the string parameter only matches a period in the pattern parameter; it is not matched by either the asterisk or question-mark special charac- ters, nor by a bracket expression. A period is determined to be leading according to the setting of the FNM_PATHNAME flag, according to the following rules: If the FNM_PATHNAME flag is set, a period is leading only if it is the first character in the string parameter or if it im- mediately follows a slash. If the FNM_PATHNAME flag is not set, a pe- riod is leading only if it is the first character of the string parame- ter. If FNM_PERIOD is not set, no special restrictions are placed on match- ing a period. A \ (backslash character) quotes the next character, unless FNM_NOESCAPE is set. If FNM_NOESCAPE is set, \ (backslash) is treated as itself. DESCRIPTION The fnmatch() function checks the string specified by the string para- meter to see if it matches the pattern specified by the pattern parame- ter. This routine follows the match criteria of the glob() function. The fnmatch function is useful when a program needs to perform pattern matching, such as when a directory is to be searched for a particular string (as is the case with the find command). A program like the pax command can also use the fnmatch() function to perform its pattern matching operations. RETURN VALUES If the value in the string parameter matches the pattern specified by the pattern parameter, then the fnmatch() function returns 0 (zero). If there is no match, the fnmatch() function returns FNM_NOMATCH, which is defined in the fnmatch.h file. If an error occurs, the fnmatch() func- tion returns a nonzero value. RELATED INFORMATION Functions: glob(3), globfree(3), regcomp(3) Standards: standards(5) delim off fnmatch(3)