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HUMANIZE_NUMBER(3)	     Library Functions Manual	      HUMANIZE_NUMBER(3)

NAME
     humanize_number -- format a number into a human readable form

LIBRARY
     System Utilities Library (libutil, -lutil)

SYNOPSIS
     #include <libutil.h>

     int
     humanize_number(char *buf, size_t len, int64_t number, const char *suffix,
	 int scale, int flags);

DESCRIPTION
     The  humanize_number() function formats the signed 64-bit quantity given in
     number into buf.  A space and then suffix is  appended  to  the  end.   The
     buffer pointed to by buf must be at least len bytes long.

     If  the  formatted  number (including suffix) would be too long to fit into
     buf, then divide number by 1024 until it will.  In this case, prefix suffix
     with the appropriate designator.  The  humanize_number()  function  follows
     the  traditional  computer  science conventions by default, rather than the
     IEE/IEC (and now also SI) power of two convention or the power of	ten  no-
     tion.    This   behaviour	 however   can	be  altered  by  specifying  the
     HN_DIVISOR_1000 and HN_IEC_PREFIXES flags.

     The traditional (default) prefixes are:

	   Prefix    Description    Multiplier		   Multiplier 1000x
	   (note)    kilo	    1024		   1000
	   M	     mega	    1048576		   1000000
	   G	     giga	    1073741824		   1000000000
	   T	     tera	    1099511627776	   1000000000000
	   P	     peta	    1125899906842624	   1000000000000000
	   E	     exa	    1152921504606846976    1000000000000000000

     Note: An uppercase K indicates a power of two, a lowercase  k  a  power  of
     ten.

     The IEE/IEC (and now also SI) power of two prefixes are:

	   Prefix    Description    Multiplier
	   Ki	     kibi	    1024
	   Mi	     mebi	    1048576
	   Gi	     gibi	    1073741824
	   Ti	     tebi	    1099511627776
	   Pi	     pebi	    1125899906842624
	   Ei	     exbi	    1152921504606846976

     The  len argument must be at least 4 plus the length of suffix, in order to
     ensure a useful result is generated into buf.  To use  a  specific  prefix,
     specify  this  as scale (multiplier = 1024 ^ scale; when HN_DIVISOR_1000 is
     specified, multiplier = 1000 ^ scale).  This cannot be combined with any of
     the scale flags below.

     The following flags may be passed in scale:

	   HN_AUTOSCALE     Format the buffer using the lowest multiplier possi-
			    ble.

	   HN_GETSCALE	    Return the prefix index number (the number of  times
			    number must be divided to fit) instead of formatting
			    it to the buffer.

     The following flags may be passed in flags:

	   HN_DECIMAL	    If	the final result is less than 10, display it us-
			    ing one decimal place.

	   HN_NOSPACE	    Do not put a space between number and the prefix.

	   HN_B 	    Use `B' (bytes) as prefix  if  the	original  result
			    does not have a prefix.

	   HN_DIVISOR_1000  Divide number with 1000 instead of 1024.

	   HN_IEC_PREFIXES  Use  the IEE/IEC notion of prefixes (Ki, Mi, Gi...).
			    This flag has no effect when HN_DIVISOR_1000 is also
			    specified.

RETURN VALUES
     Upon success, the humanize_number function returns the number of characters
     that would have been stored in buf (excluding the terminating NUL)  if  buf
     was  large  enough, or -1 upon failure.  Even upon failure, the contents of
     buf may be modified.  If HN_GETSCALE is specified, the prefix index  number
     will be returned instead.

SEE ALSO
     expand_number(3)

STANDARDS
     The   HN_DIVISOR_1000   and   HN_IEC_PREFIXES   flags  conform  to  ISO/IEC
     Std 80000-13:2008 and IEEE Std 1541-2002.

HISTORY
     The humanize_number() function first appeared in NetBSD  2.0  and	then  in
     FreeBSD 5.3.  The HN_IEC_PREFIXES flag was introduced in FreeBSD 9.0.

CAVEATS
     For  numbers  greater  than 999 using buffer length of 4 and less can cause
     rounding errors.  When using HN_IEC_PREFIXES  the	same  error  occurs  for
     buffer length of 5 or less.

FreeBSD 15.1			 October 7, 2013	      HUMANIZE_NUMBER(3)

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