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.TH CANONICALIZE_FILE_NAME 3 2017-09-15 "GNU" "Linux Programmer's Manual"
.SH NAME
canonicalize_file_name \- return the canonicalized absolute pathname
.SH SYNOPSIS
.BR "#define _GNU_SOURCE" "         /* See feature_test_macros(7) */"
.br
.B #include <stdlib.h>
.PP
.BI "char *canonicalize_file_name(const char *" path ");"
.SH DESCRIPTION
The
.BR canonicalize_file_name ()
function returns a null-terminated string containing
the canonicalized absolute pathname corresponding to
.IR path .
In the returned string, symbolic links are resolved, as are
.I .
and
.I ..
pathname components.
Consecutive slash
.RI ( / )
characters are replaced by a single slash.
.PP
The returned string is dynamically allocated by
.BR canonicalize_file_name ()
and the caller should deallocate it with
.BR free (3)
when it is no longer required.
.PP
The call
.I canonicalize_file_name(path)
is equivalent to the call:
.PP
    realpath(path, NULL);
.SH RETURN VALUE
On success,
.BR canonicalize_file_name ()
returns a null-terminated string.
On error (e.g., a pathname component is unreadable or does not exist),
.BR canonicalize_file_name ()
returns NULL and sets
.I errno
to indicate the error.
.SH ERRORS
See
.BR realpath (3).
.SH ATTRIBUTES
For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see
.BR attributes (7).
.TS
allbox;
lbw24 lb lb
l l l.
Interface	Attribute	Value
T{
.BR canonicalize_file_name ()
T}	Thread safety	MT-Safe
.TE
.SH CONFORMING TO
This function is a GNU extension.
.SH SEE ALSO
.BR readlink (2),
.BR realpath (3)
.SH COLOPHON
This page is part of release 5.04 of the Linux
.I man-pages
project.
A description of the project,
information about reporting bugs,
and the latest version of this page,
can be found at
\%https://www.kernel.org/doc/man\-pages/.