The Single UNIX ® Specification, Version 2
Copyright © 1997 The Open Group

 NAME

wcstoul - convert a wide-character string to an unsigned long

 SYNOPSIS



#include <wchar.h>

unsigned long int wcstoul(const wchar_t *nptr, wchar_t **endptr,
     int base);

 DESCRIPTION

The wcstoul() function converts the initial portion of the wide-character string pointed to by nptr to unsigned long int representation. First it decomposes the input wide-character string into three parts: an initial, possibly empty, sequence of white-space wide-character codes (as specified by iswspace()); a subject sequence interpreted as an integer represented in some radix determined by the value of base; and a final wide-character string of one or more unrecognised wide-character codes, including the terminating null wide-character code of the input wide-character string. Then it attempts to convert the subject sequence to an unsigned integer, and returns the result.

If base is 0, the expected form of the subject sequence is that of a decimal constant, octal constant or hexadecimal constant, any of which may be preceded by a + or - sign. A decimal constant begins with a non-zero digit, and consists of a sequence of decimal digits. An octal constant consists of the prefix 0 optionally followed by a sequence of the digits 0 to 7 only. A hexadecimal constant consists of the prefix 0x or 0X followed by a sequence of the decimal digits and letters a (or A) to f (or F) with values 10 to 15 respectively.

If the value of base is between 2 and 36, the expected form of the subject sequence is a sequence of letters and digits representing an integer with the radix specified by base, optionally preceded by a + or - sign, but not including an integer suffix. The letters from a (or A) to z (or Z) inclusive are ascribed the values 10 to 35; only letters whose ascribed values are less than that of base are permitted. If the value of base is 16, the wide-character codes 0x or 0X may optionally precede the sequence of letters and digits, following the sign if present.

The subject sequence is defined as the longest initial subsequence of the input wide-character string, starting with the first wide-character code that is not white space and is of the expected form. The subject sequence contains no wide-character codes if the input wide-character string is empty or consists entirely of white-space wide-character codes, or if the first wide-character code that is not white space is other than a sign or a permissible letter or digit.

If the subject sequence has the expected form and base is 0, the sequence of wide-character codes starting with the first digit is interpreted as an integer constant. If the subject sequence has the expected form and the value of base is between 2 and 36, it is used as the base for conversion, ascribing to each letter its value as given above. If the subject sequence begins with a minus sign, the value resulting from the conversion is negated. A pointer to the final wide-character string is stored in the object pointed to by endptr, provided that endptr is not a null pointer.

In other than the POSIX locale, additional implementation-dependent subject sequence forms may be accepted.

If the subject sequence is empty or does not have the expected form, no conversion is performed; the value of nptr is stored in the object pointed to by endptr, provided that endptr is not a null pointer.

The wcstoul() function will not change the setting of errno if successful.

Because 0 and {ULONG_MAX} are returned on error and 0 is also a valid return on success, an application wishing to check for error situations should set errno to 0, then call wcstoul(), then check errno.

 RETURN VALUE

Upon successful completion, wcstoul() returns the converted value, if any. If no conversion could be performed, 0 is returned and errno may be set to indicate the error. If the correct value is outside the range of representable values, {ULONG_MAX} is returned and errno is set to [ERANGE] .

 ERRORS

The wcstoul() function will fail if:
[EINVAL]
The value of base is not supported.
[ERANGE]
The value to be returned is not representable.

The wcstoul() function may fail if:

[EINVAL]
No conversion could be performed.

 EXAMPLES

None.

 APPLICATION USAGE

Unlike wcstod() and wcstol(), wcstoul() must always return a non-negative number; so, using the return value of wcstoul() for out-of-range numbers with wcstoul() could cause more severe problems than just loss of precision if those numbers can ever be negative.

 FUTURE DIRECTIONS

None.

 SEE ALSO

iswalpha(), scanf(), wcstod(), wcstol(), <wchar.h>.

DERIVATION

Derived from the MSE working draft.

UNIX ® is a registered Trademark of The Open Group.
Copyright © 1997 The Open Group
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