basename(3C)




NAME

     basename - return the last element of a path name


SYNOPSIS

     #include <libgen.h>

     char *basename(char *path);


DESCRIPTION

     The basename() function takes the  pathname  pointed  to  by
     path  and  returns  a  pointer to the final component of the
     pathname, deleting any trailing '/' characters.

     If the  string  consists  entirely  of  the  '/'  character,
     basename() returns a pointer to the string "/" .

     If path is a null pointer or  points  to  an  empty  string,
     basename() returns a pointer to the string "." .


RETURN VALUES

     The basename() function returns a pointer to the final  com-
     ponent of path.


USAGE

     The basename() function may modify the string pointed to  by
     path,  and  may  return a pointer to static storage that may
     then be overwritten by a subsequent call to basename().

     When compiling multithreaded  applications,  the  _REENTRANT
     flag  must be defined on the compile line.  This flag should
     only be used in multithreaded applications.


EXAMPLES

     Example 1: Examples for Input String and Output String

     ____________________________________________________________
    |        Input String         |        Output String        |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | "/usr/lib"                  | "lib"                       |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | "/usr/"                     | "usr"                       |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | "/"                         | "/"                         |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|


ATTRIBUTES

     See attributes(5) for descriptions of the  following  attri-
     butes:

     ____________________________________________________________
    |       ATTRIBUTE TYPE        |       ATTRIBUTE VALUE       |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | MT-Level                    | MT-Safe                     |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|


SEE ALSO

     basename(1), dirname(3C), attributes(5)


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