fnmatch(3) - Linux manual page (original) (raw)

fnmatch(3) Library Functions Manual fnmatch(3)

NAME top

   fnmatch - match filename or pathname

LIBRARY top

   Standard C library (_libc_, _-lc_)

SYNOPSIS top

   **#include <fnmatch.h>**

   **int fnmatch(const char ***_pattern_**, const char ***_string_**, int** _flags_**);**

DESCRIPTION top

   The **fnmatch**() function checks whether the _string_ argument matches
   the _pattern_ argument, which is a shell wildcard pattern (see
   [glob(7)](../man7/glob.7.html)).

   The _flags_ argument modifies the behavior; it is the bitwise OR of
   zero or more of the following flags:

   **FNM_NOESCAPE**
          If this flag is set, treat backslash as an ordinary
          character, instead of an escape character.

   **FNM_PATHNAME**
          If this flag is set, match a slash in _string_ only with a
          slash in _pattern_ and not by an asterisk (*) or a question
          mark (?) metacharacter, nor by a bracket expression ([])
          containing a slash.

   **FNM_PERIOD**
          If this flag is set, a leading period in _string_ has to be
          matched exactly by a period in _pattern_.  A period is
          considered to be leading if it is the first character in
          _string_, or if both **FNM_PATHNAME** is set and the period
          immediately follows a slash.

   **FNM_FILE_NAME**
          This is a GNU synonym for **FNM_PATHNAME**.

   **FNM_LEADING_DIR**
          If this flag (a GNU extension) is set, the pattern is
          considered to be matched if it matches an initial segment
          of _string_ which is followed by a slash.  This flag is
          mainly for the internal use of glibc and is implemented
          only in certain cases.

   **FNM_CASEFOLD**
   **FNM_IGNORECASE** (same as **FNM_CASEFOLD**)
          If this flag is set, the pattern is matched case-
          insensitively.

   **FNM_EXTMATCH**
          If this flag (a GNU extension) is set, extended patterns
          are supported, as introduced by 'ksh' and now supported by
          other shells.  The extended format is as follows, with
          _pattern-list_ being a '|' separated list of patterns.

   '?(_pattern-list_)'
          The pattern matches if zero or one occurrences of any of
          the patterns in the _pattern-list_ match the input _string_.

   '*(_pattern-list_)'
          The pattern matches if zero or more occurrences of any of
          the patterns in the _pattern-list_ match the input _string_.

   '+(_pattern-list_)'
          The pattern matches if one or more occurrences of any of
          the patterns in the _pattern-list_ match the input _string_.

   '@(_pattern-list_)'
          The pattern matches if exactly one occurrence of any of the
          patterns in the _pattern-list_ match the input _string_.

   '!(_pattern-list_)'
          The pattern matches if the input _string_ cannot be matched
          with any of the patterns in the _pattern-list_.

RETURN VALUE top

   Zero if _string_ matches _pattern_, **FNM_NOMATCH** if there is no match
   or another nonzero value if there is an error.

ATTRIBUTES top

   For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see
   [attributes(7)](../man7/attributes.7.html).
   ┌───────────────────────────┬───────────────┬────────────────────┐
   │ **Interface** │ **Attribute** │ **Value** │
   ├───────────────────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────┤
   │ **fnmatch**()                 │ Thread safety │ MT-Safe env locale │
   └───────────────────────────┴───────────────┴────────────────────┘

STANDARDS top

   **fnmatch**()
          POSIX.1-2008.

   **FNM_CASEFOLD**
   **FNM_IGNORECASE**
          POSIX.1-2024.

   **FNM_FILE_NAME**
   **FNM_LEADING_DIR**
          GNU.

HISTORY top

   **fnmatch**()
          POSIX.1-2001, POSIX.2.

   **FNM_CASEFOLD**
          has been available on many systems even before
          POSIX.1-2024.

SEE ALSO top

   **sh**(1), [glob(3)](../man3/glob.3.html), [scandir(3)](../man3/scandir.3.html), [wordexp(3)](../man3/wordexp.3.html), [glob(7)](../man7/glob.7.html)

COLOPHON top

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Linux man-pages 6.10 2024-07-23 fnmatch(3)

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