BASENAME(3)						   BSD Library Functions Manual 					       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 con-
     sists 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 X/Open Portability Guide Issue 4, Version 2 (``XPG4.2'').

HISTORY

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

AUTHORS

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

BSD
								  August 17, 1997							       BSD