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READPASSPHRASE(3)	     Library Functions Manual	       READPASSPHRASE(3)

NAME
     readpassphrase -- get a passphrase from the user

SYNOPSIS
     #include <readpassphrase.h>

     char *
     readpassphrase(const char *prompt, char *buf, size_t bufsiz, int flags);

DESCRIPTION
     The  readpassphrase()  function  displays	a  prompt  to,	and  reads  in a
     passphrase  from,	/dev/tty.   If	this  file  is	inaccessible   and   the
     RPP_REQUIRE_TTY  flag  is	not set, readpassphrase() displays the prompt on
     the standard error output and reads from the standard input.  In this  case
     it is generally not possible to turn off echo.

     Up to bufsiz - 1 characters (one is for the NUL) are read into the provided
     buffer  buf.  Any additional characters and the terminating newline (or re-
     turn) character are discarded.

     The readpassphrase() function takes the following optional flags:

     RPP_ECHO_OFF     turn off echo (default behavior)
     RPP_ECHO_ON      leave echo on
     RPP_REQUIRE_TTY  fail if there is no tty
     RPP_FORCELOWER   force input to lower case
     RPP_FORCEUPPER   force input to upper case
     RPP_SEVENBIT     strip the high bit from input
     RPP_STDIN	      force read of passphrase from stdin

     The calling process should zero the passphrase as soon as possible to avoid
     leaving the cleartext passphrase visible in the process's address space.

RETURN VALUES
     Upon successful completion, readpassphrase() returns a pointer to the  NUL-
     terminated  passphrase.   If an error is encountered, the terminal state is
     restored and a NULL pointer is returned.

FILES
     /dev/tty

EXAMPLES
     The following code fragment will read a passphrase from /dev/tty  into  the
     buffer passbuf.

	   char passbuf[1024];

	   ...

	   if (readpassphrase("Response: ", passbuf, sizeof(passbuf),
	       RPP_REQUIRE_TTY) == NULL)
		   errx(1, "unable to read passphrase");

	   if (compare(transform(passbuf), epass) != 0)
		   errx(1, "bad passphrase");

	   ...

	   memset(passbuf, 0, sizeof(passbuf));

ERRORS
     [EINTR]		The  readpassphrase() function was interrupted by a sig-
			nal.

     [EINVAL]		The bufsiz argument was zero.

     [EIO]		The process is a member of a background process attempt-
			ing to read from its controlling terminal,  the  process
			is  ignoring  or  blocking  the  SIGTTIN  signal, or the
			process group is orphaned.

     [EMFILE]		The process has already reached its limit for open  file
			descriptors.

     [ENFILE]		The system file table is full.

     [ENOTTY]		There is no controlling terminal and the RPP_REQUIRE_TTY
			flag was specified.

SIGNALS
     The readpassphrase() function will catch the following signals:

	   SIGALRM	   SIGHUP	   SIGINT
	   SIGPIPE	   SIGQUIT	   SIGTERM
	   SIGTSTP	   SIGTTIN	   SIGTTOU

     When  one	of  the  above signals is intercepted, terminal echo will be re-
     stored if it had previously been turned off.  If a signal handler	was  in-
     stalled  for  the	signal when readpassphrase() was called, that handler is
     then executed.  If no handler was previously installed for the signal  then
     the default action is taken as per sigaction(2).

     The  SIGTSTP, SIGTTIN and SIGTTOU signals (stop signals generated from key-
     board or due to terminal I/O from a background process)  are  treated  spe-
     cially.   When  the  process  is  resumed	after it has been stopped, read-
     passphrase() will reprint	the  prompt  and  the  user  may  then	enter  a
     passphrase.

SEE ALSO
     sigaction(2), getpass(3)

STANDARDS
     The  readpassphrase()  function  is  an extension and should not be used if
     portability is desired.

HISTORY
     The  readpassphrase()  function  first  appeared	in   FreeBSD   4.6   and
     OpenBSD 2.9.

FreeBSD ports 15.quarterly	  May 31, 2007		       READPASSPHRASE(3)

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