BASENAME(3)

NAME
basename - extract the base portion of a pathname

SYNOPSIS
#include <libgen.h>
char *
basename(char *path);

DESCRIPTION
The basename() function returns the last component from the pathname pointed to by path, deleting any trailing ‘/’ characters. If path consists entirely of ‘/’ characters, a pointer to the string "/" is returned. If path is a null pointer or the empty string, a pointer to the string "". is returned.

RETURN VALUES
On successful completion, basename() returns a pointer to the last component of path.

If basename() fails, a null pointer is returned and the global variable errno is set to indicate the error.

ERRORS
The following error codes may be set in errno:

[ENAMETOOLONG]
    The path component to be returned was larger than MAXPATHLEN.

WARNINGS
The basename() function returns a pointer to internal static storage space that will be overwritten by subsequent calls. The function may modify the string pointed to by path.

LEGACY SYNOPSIS
#include <libgen.h>

char *
basename(const char *path);

In legacy mode, path will not be changed.

SEE ALSO
basename(1), dirname(1), dirname(3), compat(5)

STANDARDS
The basename() function conforms to xpg4.2.

HISTORY
The basename() function first appeared in OpenBSD 2.2 and FreeBSD 4.2.

AUTHORS
Todd C. Miller <Todd.Miller@courtesan.com>