FNMATCH(3)                 POSIX Programmer's Manual                FNMATCH(3)



PROLOG
       This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The OS
       implementation of this interface may differ (consult the corresponding
       OS manual page for details of OS behavior), or the interface may not be
       implemented on OS.

NAME
       fnmatch -- match a filename string or a pathname

SYNOPSIS
       #include <fnmatch.h>

       int fnmatch(const char *pattern, const char *string, int flags);

DESCRIPTION
       The fnmatch() function shall match patterns as described in the Shell
       and Utilities volume of POSIX.1-2017, Section 2.13.1, Patterns Matching
       _a Single Character and Section 2.13.2, Patterns Matching Multiple
       Characters.  It checks the string specified by the string argument to
       see if it matches the pattern specified by the pattern argument.

       The flags argument shall modify the interpretation of pattern and
       string.  It is the bitwise-inclusive OR of zero or more of the flags
       defined in <fnmatch.h>.  If the FNM_PATHNAME flag is set in flags, then
       a <slash> character (''//'') in string shall be explicitly matched by a
       <slash> in pattern; it shall not be matched by either the <asterisk> or
       <question-mark> special characters, nor by a bracket expression. If the
       FNM_PATHNAME flag is not set, the <slash> character shall be treated as
       an ordinary character.

       If FNM_NOESCAPE is not set in flags, a <backslash> character in pattern
       followed by any other character shall match that second character in
       string.  In particular, ""\\\\"" shall match a <backslash> in string.  If
       pattern ends with an unescaped <backslash>, fnmatch() shall return a
       non-zero value (indicating either no match or an error).  If
       FNM_NOESCAPE is set, a <backslash> character shall be treated as an
       ordinary character.

       If FNM_PERIOD is set in flags, then a leading <period> (''..'')  in string
       shall match a <period> in pattern; as described by rule 2 in the Shell
       and Utilities volume of POSIX.1-2017, Section 2.13.3, Patterns Used for
       Filename Expansion where the location of ``leading'' is indicated by
       the value of FNM_PATHNAME:

        *  If FNM_PATHNAME is set, a <period> is ``leading'' if it is the
           first character in string or if it immediately follows a <slash>.

        *  If FNM_PATHNAME is not set, a <period> is ``leading'' only if it is
           the first character of string.

       If FNM_PERIOD is not set, then no special restrictions are placed on
       matching a period.

RETURN VALUE
       If string matches the pattern specified by pattern, then fnmatch()
       shall return 0. If there is no match, fnmatch() shall return
       FNM_NOMATCH, which is defined in <fnmatch.h>.  If an error occurs,
       fnmatch() shall return another non-zero value.

ERRORS
       No errors are defined.

       The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES
       None.

APPLICATION USAGE
       The fnmatch() function has two major uses. It could be used by an
       application or utility that needs to read a directory and apply a
       pattern against each entry. The find utility is an example of this. It
       can also be used by the pax utility to process its pattern operands, or
       by applications that need to match strings in a similar manner.

       The name fnmatch() is intended to imply filename match, rather than
       pathname match. The default action of this function is to match
       filename strings, rather than pathnames, since it gives no special
       significance to the <slash> character. With the FNM_PATHNAME flag,
       fnmatch() does match pathnames, but without tilde expansion, parameter
       expansion, or special treatment for a <period> at the beginning of a
       filename.

RATIONALE
       This function replaced the REG_FILENAME flag of regcomp() in early
       proposals of this volume of POSIX.1-2017. It provides virtually the
       same functionality as the regcomp() and regexec() functions using the
       REG_FILENAME and REG_FSLASH flags (the REG_FSLASH flag was proposed for
       regcomp(), and would have had the opposite effect from FNM_PATHNAME),
       but with a simpler function and less system overhead.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS
       None.

SEE ALSO
       glob(), Section 2.6, Word Expansions

       The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1-2017, <fnmatch.h>

COPYRIGHT
       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form
       from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard for Information Technology --
       Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
       Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright (C) 2018 by the
       Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open
       Group.  In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the
       original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The
       Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can
       be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

       Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are
       most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of the source
       files to man page format. To report such errors, see
       https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .



IEEE/The Open Group                  2017                           FNMATCH(3)
