NAME

       lfind, lsearch - linear search of an array

SYNOPSIS

       #include <search.h>

       void *lfind(const void *key, const void *base, size_t *nmemb,
                size_t size, int(*compar)(const void *, const void *));

       void *lsearch(const void *key, void *base, size_t *nmemb,
                size_t size, int(*compar)(const void *, const void *));

DESCRIPTION

       lfind()  and  lsearch() perform a linear search for key in the array base which has *nmemb
       elements of size bytes each.  The comparison function referenced by compar is expected  to
       have  two  arguments  which point to the key object and to an array member, in that order,
       and which returns zero if the key object matches the array member, and nonzero otherwise.

       If lsearch() does not find a matching element, then the key object is inserted at the  end
       of  the  table, and *nmemb is incremented.  In particular, one should know that a matching
       element exists, or that more room is available.

RETURN VALUE

       lfind() returns a pointer to a matching member of the array, or NULL if no match is found.
       lsearch()  returns  a  pointer  to  a  matching member of the array, or to the newly added
       member if no match is found.

ATTRIBUTES

       For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see attributes(7).

       ┌───────────────────┬───────────────┬─────────┐
       │Interface          │ Attribute     │ Value   │
       ├───────────────────┼───────────────┼─────────┤
       │lfind(), lsearch() │ Thread safety │ MT-Safe │
       └───────────────────┴───────────────┴─────────┘

CONFORMING TO

       POSIX.1-2001, POSIX.1-2008, SVr4, 4.3BSD.  Present in libc since libc-4.6.27.

BUGS

       The naming is unfortunate.

SEE ALSO

       bsearch(3), hsearch(3), tsearch(3)

COLOPHON

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       project,  information  about  reporting  bugs, and the latest version of this page, can be
       found at https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.