GETS(3P)                                            POSIX Programmer's Manual                                           GETS(3P)



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

NAME
       gets - get a string from a stdin stream

SYNOPSIS
       #include <stdio.h>

       char *gets(char *s);


DESCRIPTION
       The gets() function shall read bytes from the standard input stream, stdin, into the array pointed to by s, until a <new-
       line> is read or an end-of-file condition is encountered.  Any <newline> shall be discarded and  a  null  byte  shall  be
       placed immediately after the last byte read into the array.

       The  gets()  function may mark the st_atime field of the file associated with stream for update. The st_atime field shall
       be marked for update by the first successful execution of fgetc(), fgets(), fread(), getc(), getchar(), gets(), fscanf(),
       or scanf() using stream that returns data not supplied by a prior call to ungetc().

RETURN VALUE
       Upon  successful  completion,  gets()  shall return s. If the stream is at end-of-file, the end-of-file indicator for the
       stream shall be set and gets() shall return a null pointer.  If a read error occurs, the error indicator for  the  stream
       shall be set, gets() shall return a null pointer,  and set errno to indicate the error.

ERRORS
       Refer to fgetc().

       The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES
       None.

APPLICATION USAGE
       Reading a line that overflows the array pointed to by s results in undefined behavior. The use of fgets() is recommended.

       Since  the user cannot specify the length of the buffer passed to gets(), use of this function is discouraged. The length
       of the string read is unlimited. It is possible to overflow this buffer in such a way as to cause applications  to  fail,
       or possible system security violations.

       It is recommended that the fgets() function should be used to read input lines.

RATIONALE
       None.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS
       None.

SEE ALSO
       feof(), ferror(), fgets(), the Base Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, <stdio.h>

COPYRIGHT
       Portions  of  this  text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for
       Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6,  Copy-
       right (C) 2001-2003 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.open-
       group.org/unix/online.html .



IEEE/The Open Group                                           2003                                                      GETS(3P)