GETPWENT
Section: Linux Programmer's Manual (3)
Updated: May 27, 1996
NAME
getpwent, setpwent, endpwent - get password file entry
SYNOPSIS
#include <pwd.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
struct passwd *getpwent(void);
void setpwent(void);
void endpwent(void);
DESCRIPTION
The getpwent() function returns a pointer to a structure containing
the broken out fields of a line from /etc/passwd. The first time it
is called it returns the first entry; thereafter, it returns successive
entries.
The setpwent() function rewinds the file pointer to the beginning
of the /etc/passwd file.
The endpwent() function closes the /etc/passwd file.
The passwd structure is defined in <pwd.h> as follows:
-
struct passwd {
char *pw_name; /* user name */
char *pw_passwd; /* user password */
uid_t pw_uid; /* user id */
gid_t pw_gid; /* group id */
char *pw_gecos; /* real name */
char *pw_dir; /* home directory */
char *pw_shell; /* shell program */
};
RETURN VALUE
The getpwent() function returns the passwd structure, or NULL if
there are no more entries or an error occurs.
ERRORS
- ENOMEM
-
Insufficient memory to allocate passwd structure.
FILES
- /etc/passwd
-
password database file
CONFORMING TO
SVID 3, BSD 4.3
SEE ALSO
fgetpwent(3), getpwnam(3), getpwuid(3), getpw(3),
putpwent(3),
passwd(5).