PROLOG

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

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 .

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