ELF_ERRMSG(3ELF) ELF Library Functions ELF_ERRMSG(3ELF)

NAME

elf_errmsg, elf_errno - error handling

SYNOPSIS

cc [ flag ... ] file ... -lelf [ library ... ]
#include <libelf.h>

const char *elf_errmsg(int err);


int elf_errno(void);

DESCRIPTION

If an ELF library function fails, a program can call elf_errno() to
retrieve the library's internal error number. As a side effect, this
function resets the internal error number to 0, which indicates no error.


The elf_errmsg() function takes an error number, err, and returns a null-
terminated error message (with no trailing new-line) that describes the
problem. A zero err retrieves a message for the most recent error. If no
error has occurred, the return value is a null pointer (not a pointer to
the null string). Using err of -1 also retrieves the most recent error,
except it guarantees a non-null return value, even when no error has
occurred. If no message is available for the given number, elf_errmsg()
returns a pointer to an appropriate message. This function does not have
the side effect of clearing the internal error number.

EXAMPLES

Example 1: A sample program of calling the elf_errmsg() function.

The following fragment clears the internal error number and checks it
later for errors. Unless an error occurs after the first call to
elf_errno(), the next call will return 0.


(void)elf_errno();
/* processing ... */
while (more_to_do)
{
if ((err = elf_errno()) != 0)
{
/* print msg */
msg = elf_errmsg(err);
}
}

ATTRIBUTES

See attributes(7) for descriptions of the following attributes:


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

SEE ALSO

elf(3ELF), libelf(3LIB), attributes(7)

July 11, 2001 ELF_ERRMSG(3ELF)