.\"	$OpenBSD: getcwd.3,v 1.9 2003/06/02 20:18:34 millert Exp $
.\"
.\" Copyright (c) 1991, 1993
.\"	The Regents of the University of California.  All rights reserved.
.\"
.\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
.\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
.\" are met:
.\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
.\"    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
.\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
.\"    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
.\"    documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
.\" 3. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
.\"    may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
.\"    without specific prior written permission.
.\"
.\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
.\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
.\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
.\" ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
.\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
.\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
.\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
.\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
.\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
.\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
.\" SUCH DAMAGE.
.\"
.Dd December 11, 1993
.Dt GETCWD 3
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Nm getcwd ,
.Nm getwd
.Nd get working directory pathname
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Fd #include <unistd.h>
.Ft char *
.Fn getcwd "char *buf" "size_t size"
.Ft char *
.Fn getwd "char *buf"
.Sh DESCRIPTION
The
.Fn getcwd
function copies the absolute pathname of the current working directory
into the memory referenced by
.Fa buf
and returns a pointer to
.Fa buf .
The
.Fa size
argument is the size, in bytes, of the array referenced by
.Fa buf .
.Pp
If
.Fa buf
is
.Dv NULL ,
space is allocated as necessary to store the pathname.
This space may later be
.Xr free 3 Ns 'd.
.Pp
The function
.Fn getwd
is a compatibility routine which calls
.Fn getcwd
with its
.Fa buf
argument and a size of
.Dv MAXPATHLEN
(as defined in the include
file
.Aq Pa sys/param.h ) .
Obviously,
.Fa buf
should be at least
.Dv MAXPATHLEN
bytes in length.
.Pp
These routines have traditionally been used by programs to save the
name of a working directory for the purpose of returning to it.
A much faster and less error-prone method of accomplishing this is to
open the current directory
.Pq Pa \&.
and use the
.Xr fchdir 2
function to return.
.Sh RETURN VALUES
Upon successful completion, a pointer to the pathname is returned.
Otherwise a null pointer is returned and the global variable
.Va errno
is set to indicate the error.
In addition,
.Fn getwd
copies the error message associated with
.Va errno
into the memory referenced by
.Fa buf .
.Sh ERRORS
The
.Fn getwd
function will fail if:
.Bl -tag -width Er
.It Bq Er EACCES
Read or search permission was denied for a component of the pathname.
.It Bq Er EINVAL
The
.Fa size
argument is zero.
.It Bq Er ENOENT
A component of the pathname no longer exists.
.It Bq Er ENOMEM
Insufficient memory is available.
.It Bq Er ERANGE
The
.Fa size
argument is greater than zero but smaller than the length of the pathname
plus 1.
.El
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr chdir 2 ,
.Xr fchdir 2 ,
.Xr malloc 3 ,
.Xr strerror 3
.Sh STANDARDS
The
.Fn getcwd
function conforms to
.St -ansiC .
The ability to specify a null pointer and have
.Fn getcwd
allocate memory as necessary is an extension.
.Sh HISTORY
The
.Fn getwd
function appeared in
.Bx 4.0 .
.Sh BUGS
The
.Fn getwd
function does not do sufficient error checking and is not able to return very
long, but valid, paths.
It is provided for compatibility.