linux man page for fread

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

NAME
       fread, fwrite - binary stream input/output

SYNOPSIS
       #include <stdio.h>

       size_t fread(void *ptr, size_t size, size_t nmemb, FILE *stream);

       size_t fwrite(const void *ptr, size_t size, size_t nmemb,
		     FILE *stream);

DESCRIPTION
       The function fread() reads nmemb elements of data, each size bytes long, from the stream pointed to by stream, storing them at the location
       given by ptr.

       The function fwrite() writes nmemb elements of data, each size bytes long, to the stream pointed to by  stream,	obtaining  them  from  the
       location given by ptr.

       For nonlocking counterparts, see unlocked_stdio(3).

RETURN VALUE
       fread()	and fwrite() return the number of items successfully read or written (i.e., not the number of characters).  If an error occurs, or
       the end-of-file is reached, the return value is a short item count (or zero).

       fread() does not distinguish between end-of-file and error, and callers must use feof(3) and ferror(3) to determine which occurred.

CONFORMING TO
       C89, POSIX.1-2001.

SEE ALSO
       read(2), write(2), feof(3), ferror(3), unlocked_stdio(3)

COLOPHON
       This page is part of release 3.27 of the Linux man-pages project.  A description of the project, and information about reporting bugs,  can
       be found at http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.

GNU
								    1996-05-17								  FREAD(3)