LFIND - linear search.

(Compatible with UNIX System V C)

Usage:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <search.h>
char *lfind();
ptr = lfind( key, table, tsize_p, keysize, compar);

Where:

char *key;: points to the key you are searching for. This can actually be any type of information, but the pointer must be cast into (char *).
char *table;: points to the beginning of a table that contains information to search. This need not be sorted in any order.
unsigned int *tsize_p;: points to an unsigned integer that gives the number of elements in the table.
int keysize;: is equal to "sizeof(*key)", i.e. the size (in bytes) of the key you are searching for.
int (*compar)(char *,char *);: is a pointer to a user-defined function that determines whether or not two keys are equal. This function should take two (char *) arguments; one will point to the key you are looking for and the other will point to a key in the table. The function should return a zero if the two keys are equal, and a non-zero value otherwise.
char *ptr;: points to a table element that matches "key". If no match was found, this will be the NULL pointer.

Description:

"lfind" performs a linear search through the elements of a table. It uses the user-supplied "compar" function to compare elements in the table. If the desired key is not found in the table, a NULL pointer is returned.

Note that "compar" does not have to do a byte-by-byte comparison between the key and the table elements. For example, the table may be an array of C structures and "compar" may only look at a particular field when comparing two structures. In this case, the original search key might just be a dummy, with only the significant field filled in.

LFIND - linear search.

Usage:

Where:

Description:

See Also: