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ICONV(3)		     Library Functions Manual			ICONV(3)

NAME
     iconv_open, iconv_open_into, iconv_close, iconv -- codeset conversion func-
     tions

LIBRARY
     Standard C Library (libc, -lc)

SYNOPSIS
     #include <iconv.h>

     iconv_t
     iconv_open(const char *dstname, const char *srcname);

     int
     iconv_open_into(const char *dstname, const char *srcname,
	 iconv_allocation_t *ptr);

     int
     iconv_close(iconv_t cd);

     size_t
     iconv(iconv_t cd, char ** restrict src, size_t * restrict srcleft,
	 char ** restrict dst, size_t * restrict dstleft);

     size_t
     __iconv(iconv_t cd, char ** restrict src, size_t * restrict srcleft,
	 char ** restrict dst, size_t * restrict dstleft, uint32_t flags,
	 size_t * invalids);

DESCRIPTION
     The iconv_open() function opens a converter from the codeset srcname to the
     codeset  dstname  and  returns  its  descriptor.  The arguments srcname and
     dstname accept "" and "char", which refer to the current locale encoding.

     The iconv_open_into() creates a conversion  descriptor  on  a  preallocated
     space.   The iconv_allocation_t is used as a spaceholder type when allocat-
     ing such space.  The dstname and srcname arguments are the same as  in  the
     case  of iconv_open().  The ptr argument is a pointer of iconv_allocation_t
     to the preallocated space.

     The iconv_close() function closes the specified converter cd.

     The iconv() function converts the string  in  the	buffer	*src  of  length
     *srcleft  bytes  and stores the converted string in the buffer *dst of size
     *dstleft bytes.  After calling iconv(),  the  values  pointed  to	by  src,
     srcleft, dst, and dstleft are updated as follows:

     *src      Pointer to the byte just after the last character fetched.

     *srcleft  Number of remaining bytes in the source buffer.

     *dst      Pointer to the byte just after the last character stored.

     *dstleft  Number of remainder bytes in the destination buffer.

     If  the  string  pointed to by *src contains a byte sequence which is not a
     valid character in the source codeset, the conversion stops just after  the
     last successful conversion.  If the output buffer is too small to store the
     converted	character,  the conversion also stops in the same way.	In these
     cases, the values pointed to by src, srcleft, dst, and dstleft are  updated
     to the state just after the last successful conversion.

     If  the string pointed to by *src contains a character which is valid under
     the source codeset but can not be converted to the destination codeset, the
     character is replaced by an "invalid character" which depends on the desti-
     nation codeset, e.g., `?', and the conversion is  continued.   iconv()  re-
     turns the number of such "invalid conversions".

     There are two special cases of iconv():

     src == NULL || *src == NULL
	   If  the  source  and/or  destination  codesets  are stateful, iconv()
	   places these into their initial state.

	   If both dst and *dst are non-NULL, iconv() stores the shift	sequence
	   for	the  destination  switching  to  the initial state in the buffer
	   pointed to by *dst.	The  buffer  size  is  specified  by  the  value
	   pointed  to	by dstleft as above.  iconv() will fail if the buffer is
	   too small to store the shift sequence.

	   On the other hand, dst or *dst may be NULL.	In this case, the  shift
	   sequence  for  the destination switching to the initial state is dis-
	   carded.

     The __iconv() function works just like iconv() but if  iconv()  fails,  the
     invalid  character count is lost there.  This is a not bug rather a limita-
     tion of IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 ("POSIX.1"), so __iconv() is	provided  as  an
     alternative  but  non-standard  interface.   It  also has a flags argument,
     where currently the following flags can be passed:

     __ICONV_F_HIDE_INVALID
	   Skip invalid characters, instead of returning with an error.

RETURN VALUES
     Upon successful completion of iconv_open(), it  returns  a  conversion  de-
     scriptor.	 Otherwise,  iconv_open()  returns (iconv_t)-1 and sets errno to
     indicate the error.

     Upon successful completion of iconv_open_into(), it returns 0.   Otherwise,
     iconv_open_into() returns -1, and sets errno to indicate the error.

     Upon  successful  completion  of  iconv_close(),  it returns 0.  Otherwise,
     iconv_close() returns -1 and sets errno to indicate the error.

     Upon successful completion of iconv(), it returns the number  of  "invalid"
     conversions.  Otherwise, iconv() returns (size_t)-1 and sets errno to indi-
     cate the error.

ERRORS
     The iconv_open() function may cause an error in the following cases:

     [ENOMEM]		Memory is exhausted.

     [EINVAL]		There is no converter specified by srcname and dstname.
     The iconv_open_into() function may cause an error in the following cases:

     [EINVAL]		There is no converter specified by srcname and dstname.

     The iconv_close() function may cause an error in the following case:

     [EBADF]		The conversion descriptor specified by cd is invalid.

     The iconv() function may cause an error in the following cases:

     [EBADF]		The conversion descriptor specified by cd is invalid.

     [EILSEQ]		The  string  pointed to by *src contains a byte sequence
			which does not describe a valid character of the  source
			codeset.

     [E2BIG]		The  output  buffer  pointed  to by *dst is too small to
			store the result string.

     [EINVAL]		The string pointed to by *src terminates with an  incom-
			plete character or shift sequence.

SEE ALSO
     iconv(1),	mkcsmapper(1),	mkesdb(1), __iconv_get_list(3), iconv_canonical-
     ize(3), iconvctl(3), iconvlist(3)

STANDARDS
     The iconv_open(), iconv_close(), and iconv() functions conform to IEEE  Std
     1003.1-2008 ("POSIX.1").

     The  iconv_open_into()  function  is a GNU-specific extension and it is not
     part of any standard, thus its use may break  portability.   The  __iconv()
     function  is  an own extension and it is not part of any standard, thus its
     use may break portability.

FreeBSD ports 15.quarterly	 August 4, 2014 			ICONV(3)

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