xref: /openbsd/lib/libc/stdlib/hcreate.3 (revision 274d7c50)
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31.Dd $Mdocdate: January 30 2018 $
32.Dt HCREATE 3
33.Os
34.Sh NAME
35.Nm hcreate ,
36.Nm hdestroy ,
37.Nm hsearch
38.Nd manage hash search table
39.Sh SYNOPSIS
40.In search.h
41.Ft int
42.Fn hcreate "size_t nel"
43.Ft void
44.Fn hdestroy "void"
45.Ft ENTRY *
46.Fn hsearch "ENTRY item" "ACTION action"
47.Sh DESCRIPTION
48The
49.Fn hcreate ,
50.Fn hdestroy ,
51and
52.Fn hsearch
53functions manage hash search tables.
54.Pp
55The
56.Fn hcreate
57function allocates and initializes the table.
58The
59.Fa nel
60argument specifies an estimate of the maximum number of entries to be held
61by the table.
62Unless further memory allocation fails, supplying an insufficient
63.Fa nel
64value will not result in functional harm, although a performance degradation
65may occur.
66Initialization using the
67.Fn hcreate
68function is mandatory prior to any access operations using
69.Fn hsearch .
70.Pp
71The
72.Fn hdestroy
73function destroys a table previously created using
74.Fn hcreate .
75After a call to
76.Fn hdestroy ,
77the data can no longer be accessed.
78.Pp
79The
80.Fn hsearch
81function is used to search the hash table.
82It returns a pointer into the
83hash table indicating the address of an item.
84The
85.Fa item
86argument is of type
87.Vt ENTRY ,
88defined in the
89.In search.h
90header.
91This is a structure type that contains two pointers:
92.Pp
93.Bl -tag -compact -offset indent -width "void *data "
94.It Fa char *key
95comparison key
96.It Fa void *data
97pointer to data associated with
98.Fa key
99.El
100.Pp
101The key comparison function used by
102.Fn hsearch
103is
104.Xr strcmp 3 .
105.Pp
106The
107.Fa action
108argument is of type
109.Vt ACTION ,
110an enumeration type which defines the following values:
111.Bl -tag -offset indent -width ENTERXX
112.It Dv ENTER
113Insert
114.Fa item
115into the hash table.
116If an existing item with the same key is found, it is not replaced.
117Note that the
118.Fa key
119and
120.Fa data
121elements of
122.Fa item
123are used directly by the new table entry.
124The storage for the
125key must not be modified during the lifetime of the hash table.
126.It Dv FIND
127Search the hash table without inserting
128.Fa item .
129.El
130.Pp
131Note that the comparison
132.Fa key
133must be allocated using
134.Xr malloc 3
135or
136.Xr calloc 3
137if action is
138.Dv ENTER
139and
140.Fn hdestroy
141will be called.
142This is because
143.Fn hdestroy
144will call
145.Xr free 3
146for each comparison
147.Fa key
148(but not
149.Fa data ) .
150Typically the comparison
151.Fa key
152is allocated by using
153.Xr strdup 3 .
154.Sh RETURN VALUES
155If successful, the
156.Fn hcreate
157function returns a non-zero value.
158Otherwise, a value of 0 is returned and
159.Va errno
160is set to indicate the error.
161.Pp
162If successful, the
163.Fn hsearch
164function returns a pointer to a hash table entry matching
165the provided key.
166If the action is
167.Dv FIND
168and the item was not found, or if the action is
169.Dv ENTER
170and the insertion failed,
171.Dv NULL
172is returned and
173.Va errno
174is set to indicate the error.
175If the action is
176.Dv ENTER
177and an entry already existed in the table matching the given
178key, the existing entry is returned and is not replaced.
179.Sh ERRORS
180The
181.Fn hcreate
182and
183.Fn hsearch
184functions will fail if:
185.Bl -tag -width Er
186.It Bq Er ENOMEM
187Insufficient memory is available.
188.El
189.Sh SEE ALSO
190.Xr bsearch 3 ,
191.Xr lsearch 3 ,
192.Xr malloc 3 ,
193.Xr strcmp 3
194.Sh STANDARDS
195The
196.Fn hcreate ,
197.Fn hdestroy
198and
199.Fn hsearch
200functions conform to
201.St -xpg4.2 .
202.Sh HISTORY
203The
204.Fn hcreate ,
205.Fn hdestroy
206and
207.Fn hsearch
208functions first appeared in
209.At V .
210.Sh CAVEATS
211At least the following limitations can be mentioned:
212.Bl -bullet
213.It
214The interface permits the use of only one hash table at a time.
215.It
216Individual hash table entries can be added, but not deleted.
217.It
218The standard is indecipherable about the
219internal memory usage of the functions,
220mentioning only that
221.Do
222.Fn hcreate
223and
224.Fn hsearch
225functions may use
226.Fn malloc
227to allocate space
228.Dc .
229This limits the portability of the functions,
230given that other implementations may not
231.Xr free 3
232the buffer pointed by
233.Fa key .
234.El
235