.\" Copyright (c) 1989 The Regents of the University of California.
.\" %sccs.include.redist.man%
.\" @(#)getgrent.3 6.6 (Berkeley) %G%
getgrent, getgrnam, getgrgid, setgroupent, setgrent,
endgrent \- get group file entry
struct group *getgrent(void);
struct group *getgrnam(char *name);
struct group *getgrgid(gid_t gid);
setgroupent(int stayopen);
each return a pointer to a structure containing the broken-out fields
of a line in the group file. This structure is defined by the include
and contains the following fields:
char *gr_name; /* group name */
char *gr_passwd; /* group password */
gid_t gr_gid; /* group id */
char **gr_mem; /* group members */
These fields are more completely described in
search the group database for a matching group name or group id,
respectively, returning the first one encountered. Identical group
names or group gids may result in undefined behavior.
sequentially reads the group database and is intended for programs
that wish to step through the complete list of groups.
All three routines will open the group file for reading, if necesssary.
opens the file, or rewinds it if it is already open. If
is non-zero, file descriptors are left open, significantly speeding
up subsequent calls. This functionality is unnecessary for
as it doesn't close its file descriptors by default. It should also
be noted that it is dangerous for long-running programs to use this
functionality as the group file may be updated.
with an argument of zero.
return a null pointer on EOF or error.
return 0 on failure, 1 on success.
All information is contained in a static buffer which is overwritten
by each new call. It must be copied elsewhere to be retained.
are fairly useless in a networked environment and should be
which allowed the specification of alternate password databases, has
been deprecated and is no longer available.