BASENAME(3)                Library Functions Manual                BASENAME(3)

NAME
     basename – extract the base portion of a pathname

SYNOPSIS
     #include <libgen.h>

     char *
     basename(char *path);

     char *
     basename_r(const char *path, char *bname);

DESCRIPTION
     The basename() function returns the last component from the pathname
     pointed to by path, deleting any trailing ‘/’ characters.  If path
     consists 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.

     The basename_r() variation accepts a buffer of at least MAXPATHLEN bytes
     in which to store the resulting component.

IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
     The basename() function returns a pointer to internal storage space
     allocated on the first call that will be overwritten by subsequent calls.
     basename_r() is therefore preferred for threaded applications.

RETURN VALUES
     On successful completion, basename() and basename_r() return pointers to
     the last component of path.

     If they fail, 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.

SEE ALSO
     basename(1), dirname(1), dirname(3)

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.
     The basename_r() function first appeared in OS X 10.12.

AUTHORS
     Todd C. Miller

CAVEATS
     basename() returns a pointer to internal static storage space that will
     be overwritten by subsequent calls.

     Other vendor implementations of basename() may modify the contents of the
     string passed to basename(); this should be taken into account when
     writing code which calls this function if portability is desired.

macOS 15.2                      March 31, 2010                      macOS 15.2