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setenv(3)



NAME

   setenv - change or add an environment variable

SYNOPSIS

   #include <stdlib.h>

   int setenv(const char *name, const char *value, int overwrite);

   int unsetenv(const char *name);

   Feature Test Macro Requirements for glibc (see feature_test_macros(7)):

   setenv(), unsetenv():
       _POSIX_C_SOURCE >= 200112L
           || /* Glibc versions <= 2.19: */ _BSD_SOURCE

DESCRIPTION

   The  setenv()  function  adds the variable name to the environment with
   the value value, if name does not already exist.  If name does exist in
   the  environment,  then  its  value is changed to value if overwrite is
   nonzero; if overwrite is zero, then the value of name  is  not  changed
   (and setenv() returns a success status).  This function makes copies of
   the strings pointed to by name and value (by contrast with putenv(3)).

   The unsetenv() function deletes the variable name from the environment.
   If  name does not exist in the environment, then the function succeeds,
   and the environment is unchanged.

RETURN VALUE

   The setenv() function returns zero on success, or  -1  on  error,  with
   errno set to indicate the cause of the error.

   The  unsetenv()  function returns zero on success, or -1 on error, with
   errno set to indicate the cause of the error.

ERRORS

   EINVAL name is NULL, points to a string of length 0, or contains an '='
          character.

   ENOMEM Insufficient memory to add a new variable to the environment.

ATTRIBUTES

   For   an   explanation   of   the  terms  used  in  this  section,  see
   attributes(7).

   
   Interface   Attribute      Value               
   
   setenv(),   Thread safety  MT-Unsafe const:env 
   unsetenv()

CONFORMING TO

   POSIX.1-2001, POSIX.1-2008, 4.3BSD.

NOTES

   POSIX.1 does not require setenv() or unsetenv() to be reentrant.

   Prior to glibc 2.2.2, unsetenv() was prototyped as returning void; more
   recent glibc versions follow the POSIX.1-compliant prototype  shown  in
   the SYNOPSIS.

BUGS

   POSIX.1 specifies that if name contains an '=' character, then setenv()
   should fail with the error EINVAL; however, versions  of  glibc  before
   2.3.4 allowed an '=' sign in name.

SEE ALSO

   clearenv(3), getenv(3), putenv(3), environ(7)

COLOPHON

   This  page  is  part of release 4.09 of the Linux 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/.



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