ICONV_OPEN(3)						     Linux Programmer's Manual						     ICONV_OPEN(3)

NAME

       iconv_open - allocate descriptor for character set conversion

SYNOPSIS

       #include <iconv.h>

       iconv_t iconv_open(const char *tocode, const char *fromcode);

DESCRIPTION

       The  iconv_open function allocates a conversion descriptor suitable for converting byte sequences from character encoding fromcode to char-
       acter encoding tocode.

       The values permitted for fromcode and tocode and the supported combinations are system dependent. For the GNU C library, the permitted val-
       ues are listed by the iconv --list command, and all combinations of the listed values are supported.

       The resulting conversion descriptor can be used with iconv any number of times. It remains valid until deallocated using iconv_close.

       A  conversion descriptor contains a conversion state. After creation using iconv_open, the state is in the initial state. Using iconv modi-
       fies the descriptor's conversion state. (This implies that a conversion descriptor can not be used in multiple threads simultaneously.)	To
       bring the state back to the initial state, use iconv with NULL as inbuf argument.

RETURN VALUE

       The iconv_open function returns a freshly allocated conversion descriptor. In case of error, it sets errno and returns (iconv_t)(-1).

ERRORS

       The following error can occur, among others:

       EINVAL The conversion from fromcode to tocode is not supported by the implementation.

CONFORMING TO

       UNIX98

SEE ALSO

       iconv(3), iconv_close(3), iconv(1)

GNU
								    1999-11-27							     ICONV_OPEN(3)