NAME

wctype − Gets a handle to classify wide characters

LIBRARY

Standard C library (libc.a)

SYNOPSIS

#include <wchar.h>

wctype_t wctype(
const char ∗property);

The following version of wctype() does not conform to current industry standards and is supported only for backward compatibility:

#include <wchar.h>

wctype_t wctype(
        char ∗property);

STANDARDS

Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to industry standards as follows:

wctype():  ISO C, XPG4

Refer to the standards(5) reference page for more information about industry standards and associated tags. 

PARAMETERS

propertyPoints to a string that identifies a character class. 

DESCRIPTION

The wctype() function obtains a handle for valid property names for wide characters, as defined in the current locale. The handle can then be used as the wc_prop parameter in a subsequent call to the iswctype() function to check whether a wide character has this property. (See the iswctype(3) reference page.)  Values returned by the wctype() function are valid until the setlocale() function modifies the value of the LC_CTYPE environment variable. The property parameter can have a value equal to one of the basic character classes or to any other character class that is defined for a customized locale.  The characters included in each class are specified in the locale definition file (see the localedef(1) and locale(4) reference pages for more information).  The basic character classes are as follows:

alnumA combination of the classes alpha and digit. 

alphaAlphabetic (letter) characters. This class automatically includes characters in the upper and lower classes. 

blankBlank characters, such as the space or tab character. 

cntrlControl characters. This class does not include characters in the alpha or print class. 

digitNumeric digit characters. This class includes the following characters:

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

graphGraphic characters for printing. This class does not include characters in the space or cntrl class but includes all characters in the alpha, digit, and punct classes. 

lowerLowercase characters. This class does not include characters in the cntrl, digit, punct, or space class. At a minimum, the lower class includes the 26 lowercase US-ASCII characters. These are:

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

printPrint characters. This class includes characters in the graph and space classes but does not include characters in the cntrl class. 

punctPunctuation characters. This class does not include characters in the space, alpha, digit, or cntrl class. 

spaceSpace characters. At a minimum, this class includes the space, form-feed, newline, carriage-return, tab, and vertical-tab characters. 

upperUppercase characters. At a minimum, this class includes the 26 uppercase US ASCII characters.  These are:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

xdigitHexadecimal characters. This class includes the following characters:

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F a b c d e f

RETURN VALUES

On successful completion, the wctype() function returns a value of type wctype_t, which is a handle for valid property names in the current locale.  If the property parameter specifies a character class that is not valid for the current locale, the function returns the value 0 cast to wctype_t. 

RELATED INFORMATION

Commands: localedef(1)

Files: locale(4)

Functions: ctype(3), iswctype(3), setlocale(3), towupper(3), wctrans(3)