NAME

       pmGetConfig - return Performance Co-Pilot configuration variable

C SYNOPSIS

       #include <pcp/pmapi.h>
       char *pmGetConfig(const char *variable);

       #include <pcp/impl.h>
       char *__pmGetAPIConfig(const char *feature);

       cc ... -lpcp

DESCRIPTION

       The  pmGetConfig  function  searches for variable first in the environment and then, if not found, in the
       Performance Co-Pilot (PCP) configuration file and returns the string result.  If variable is not  already
       in the environment, it is added with a call to putenv(3) before returning.

       The  default  location  of the PCP configuration file is /etc/pcp.conf but this may be changed by setting
       PCP_CONF in the environment to a new location, as described in pcp.conf(5).

       The internal __pmGetAPIConfig function reports on features of the PCP library.  It can be used  to  query
       support for multi-threading, security extensions, and other features.

       The  pmconfig(1)  utility  provides  command line access to both of these interfaces, and also provides a
       mechanism for listing all available variables and features that are valid arguments to these routines.

RETURN VALUE

       If variable is not found in either the environment nor the PCP configuration file then the  return  value
       is an empty string.  If the PCP configuration file is not found then a fatal error message is printed and
       the  process  will  exit(2)  -  although  this  sounds drastic, it is the only course of action available
       because the PCP configuration/installation is fatally flawed.

       If the pmGetConfig function returns a non-empty string, the returned value points  into  the  environment
       and  so  changing it is a bad idea.  This function returns the same type as the getenv(3) function (which
       should probably be a const char *).

       The __pmGetAPIConfig routine on the other hand returns NULL on failure to lookup the  requested  feature.
       It  does not modify the environment, and returns a pointer to a static read-only string which also should
       not be modified or freed by the caller.

PCP ENVIRONMENT

       Environment variables with the prefix PCP_ are used to parameterize the file and directory names used  by
       PCP.   On  each  installation, the file /etc/pcp.conf contains the local values for these variables.  The
       $PCP_CONF variable may be used to specify an alternative configuration file, as described in pcp.conf(5).
       Values for these variables may be obtained programmatically using the pmGetConfig(3) function.

SEE ALSO

       PCPIntro(1),  pmconfig(1),  exit(2),  PMAPI(3),  getenv(3C),  putenv(3C),  pcp.conf(5),  pcp.env(5)   and
       environ(5).

Performance Co-Pilot                                   PCP                                        PMGETCONFIG(3)