Name

catgetmsg − get message from a message catalog

Syntax

#include <nl_types.h>

char *catgetmsg(catd, set_num, msg_num, buf, buflen)
nl_catd catd;
int set_num, msg_num, buflen;
char *buf;

Description

The catgetmsg function has been superceded by the catgets function.  You should use the catgets function to get messages from a message catalog. You might want to rewrite calls to the catgetmsg function so that they use the catgets function.  The catgetmsg function is available for compatibility with XPG−2 conformant software and might not be available in the future. For more information on using catgets, see the catgets() reference page.

The function catgetmsg attempts to read up to buflen −1 bytes of a message string into the area pointed to by buf .  The parameter buflen is an integer value containing the size in bytes of buf. The return string is always terminated with a null byte.

The parameter catd is a catalog descriptor returned from an earlier call to catopen and identifies the message catalog containing the message set ( set_num) and the program message  ( msg_num).

The arguments set_num and msg_num are defined as integer values for maximum portability.  Where possible, you should use symbolic names for message and set numbers, rather hard-coding integer values into your source programs.  If you use symbolic names, you must run mkcatdefs prior to gencat and be sure the appropriate include file is used in your program.

Return Value

If successful, catgetmsg returns a pointer to the message string in buf. Otherwise, if catd is invalid or if set_num or msg_num are not in the message catalog, catgetmsg returns a pointer to an empty (null) string.

See Also

intro(3int), gencat(1int), catopen(3int), catgets(3int), nl_types(5int)
Guide to Developing International Software