NAME
getwd - get the current working directory pathname (LEGACY)
SYNOPSIS
#include <unistd.h>
char *getwd(char *path_name);
DESCRIPTION
The getwd() function shall determine an absolute pathname of the
current working directory of the calling process, and copy a string
containing that pathname into the array pointed to by the path_name
argument.
If the length of the pathname of the current working directory is
greater than ({PATH_MAX}+1) including the null byte, getwd() shall fail
and return a null pointer.
RETURN VALUE
Upon successful completion, a pointer to the string containing the
absolute pathname of the current working directory shall be returned.
Otherwise, getwd() shall return a null pointer and the contents of the
array pointed to by path_name are undefined.
ERRORS
No errors are defined.
The following sections are informative.
EXAMPLES
None.
APPLICATION USAGE
For applications portability, the getcwd() function should be used to
determine the current working directory instead of getwd().
RATIONALE
Since the user cannot specify the length of the buffer passed to
getwd(), use of this function is discouraged. The length of a pathname
described in {PATH_MAX} is file system-dependent and may vary from one
mount point to another, or might even be unlimited. It is possible to
overflow this buffer in such a way as to cause applications to fail, or
possible system security violations.
It is recommended that the getcwd() function should be used to
determine the current working directory.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
This function may be withdrawn in a future version.
SEE ALSO
getcwd() , the Base Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001,
<unistd.h>
COPYRIGHT
Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form
from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technology
-- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003 by the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the
event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and
The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard
is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online
at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .