ICONV_OPEN(3C) Standard C Library Functions ICONV_OPEN(3C)

NAME

iconv_open - code conversion allocation function

SYNOPSIS

#include <iconv.h>

iconv_t iconv_open(const char *tocode, const char *fromcode);

DESCRIPTION

The iconv_open() function returns a conversion descriptor that
describes a conversion from the codeset specified by the string
pointed to by the fromcode argument to the codeset specified by the
string pointed to by the tocode argument. For state-dependent
encodings, the conversion descriptor will be in a codeset-dependent
initial shift state, ready for immediate use with the iconv(3C)
function.


Settings of fromcode and tocode and their permitted combinations are
implementation-dependent.


The iconv_open() function supports the alias of the encoding name
specified in tocode and fromcode. The alias table of the encoding
name is described in the file /usr/lib/iconv/alias. See alias(5).


A conversion descriptor remains valid in a process until that process
closes it.


For examples using the iconv_open() function, see iconv(3C).

RETURN VALUES

Upon successful completion iconv_open() returns a conversion
descriptor for use on subsequent calls to iconv(). Otherwise,
iconv_open() returns (iconv_t) -1 and sets errno to indicate the
error.

ERRORS

The iconv_open function may fail if:

EMFILE
{OPEN_MAX} files descriptors are currently open in the
calling process.


ENFILE
Too many files are currently open in the system.


ENOMEM
Insufficient storage space is available.


EINVAL
The conversion specified by fromcode and tocode is not
supported by the implementation.

FILES

/usr/lib/iconv/alias
alias table file of the encoding name

ATTRIBUTES

See attributes(7) for descriptions of the following attributes:


+--------------------+-----------------+
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
+--------------------+-----------------+
|Interface Stability | Standard |
+--------------------+-----------------+
|MT-Level | MT-Safe |
+--------------------+-----------------+

SEE ALSO

exec(2), iconv(3C), iconv_close(3C), malloc(3C), alias(5),
attributes(7)

NOTES

The iconv_open() function uses malloc(3C) to allocate space for
internal buffer areas. iconv_open() may fail if there is insufficient
storage space to accommodate these buffers.


Portable applications must assume that conversion descriptors are not
valid after a call to one of the exec functions (see exec(2)).

October 2, 2001 ICONV_OPEN(3C)