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DIRNAME(3)	       FreeBSD Library Functions Manual		    DIRNAME(3)

NAME
     dirname --	extract	the directory part of a	pathname

SYNOPSIS
     #include <libgen.h>

     char *
     dirname(char *path);

DESCRIPTION
     The dirname() function is the converse of basename(3); it returns a
     pointer to	the parent directory of	the pathname pointed to	by path.  Any
     trailing `/' characters are not counted as	part of	the directory name.

IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
     This implementation of dirname() uses the buffer provided by the caller
     to	store the resulting parent directory.  Other vendor implementations
     may return	a pointer to internal storage space instead.  The advantage of
     the former	approach is that it ensures thread-safety, while also placing
     no	upper limit on the supported length of the pathname.

RETURN VALUES
     If	path is	a null pointer,	the empty string, or contains no `/' charac-
     ters, dirname() returns a pointer to the string ".", signifying the cur-
     rent directory.  Otherwise, it returns a pointer to the parent directory
     of	path.

SEE ALSO
     basename(1), dirname(1), basename(3)

STANDARDS
     The dirname() function conforms to	X/Open Portability Guide Issue 4,
     Version 2 ("XPG4.2").

HISTORY
     The dirname() function first appeared in OpenBSD 2.2 and FreeBSD 4.2.

     In	FreeBSD	12.0, this function was	reimplemented to store its result in
     the provided input	buffer.

AUTHORS
     Nuxi, the Netherlands

FreeBSD	13.0		       September 5, 2016		  FreeBSD 13.0
NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | IMPLEMENTATION NOTES | RETURN VALUES | SEE ALSO | STANDARDS | HISTORY | AUTHORS

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