iconv_open(3C)						   Standard C Library Functions 					    iconv_open(3C)

NAME

       iconv_open - code conversion allocation function

SYNOPSIS

       #include <iconv.h>

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

DESCRIPTION

       The  iconv_open()  function returns a conversion descriptor that describes a conversion from the codeset specified by the string pointed to
       by the fromcode argument to the codeset specified by the string pointed to by the tocode argument. For state-dependent encodings, the  con-
       version descriptor will be in  a codeset-dependent initial shift state, ready for immediate use with the  iconv(3C) function.

       Settings of fromcode and tocode and their permitted combinations are implementation-dependent.

       The  iconv_open()  function supports the alias of the encoding name specified in tocode and fromcode.  The alias table of the encoding name
       is described in the file /usr/lib/iconv/alias. See alias(4).

       A conversion descriptor remains valid in a process until that process closes it.

       For examples using the  iconv_open() function, see iconv(3C).

RETURN VALUES

       Upon successful completion  iconv_open() returns a conversion descriptor for use on subsequent calls to	iconv().  Otherwise,  iconv_open()
       returns (iconv_t) -1 and sets errno to indicate the error.

ERRORS

       The  iconv_open function may fail if:

       EMFILE	 {OPEN_MAX} files descriptors are currently open in the calling process.

       ENFILE	 Too many files are currently open in the system.

       ENOMEM	 Insufficient storage space is available.

       EINVAL	 The conversion specified by fromcode and tocode is not supported by the implementation.

FILES

       /usr/lib/iconv/alias    alias table file of the encoding name

ATTRIBUTES

       See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |      ATTRIBUTE TYPE	     |	    ATTRIBUTE VALUE	   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |Interface Stability	     |Standard			   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |MT-Level		     |MT-Safe			   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+

SEE ALSO

       exec(2), iconv(3C), iconv_close(3C), malloc(3C), alias(4), attributes(5)

NOTES

       The iconv_open() function uses malloc(3C) to allocate space for internal buffer areas. iconv_open() may fail if there is insufficient stor-
       age space to accommodate these buffers.

       Portable applications must assume that conversion descriptors are not valid after a call to one of the exec functions (see exec(2)).

SunOS 5.11							    2 Oct 2001							    iconv_open(3C)