NAME
bsearch —
binary search of a sorted
table
LIBRARY
Standard C Library (libc, -lc)
SYNOPSIS
#include <stdlib.h>
void *
bsearch(
const
void *key,
const void
*base,
size_t nmemb,
size_t size,
int (*compar) (const void *,
const void *));
DESCRIPTION
The
bsearch() function searches an array of
nmemb objects, the initial member of which is pointed to
by
base, for a member that matches the object pointed to
by
key. The size of each member of the array is
specified by
size.
The contents of the array should be in ascending sorted order according to the
comparison function referenced by
compar. The
compar routine is expected to have two arguments which
point to the
key object and to an array member, in that
order, and should return an integer less than, equal to, or greater than zero
if the
key object is found, respectively, to be less
than, to match, or be greater than the array member.
RETURN VALUES
The
bsearch() function returns a pointer to a matching member
of the array, or a null pointer if no match is found. If two members compare
as equal, which member is matched is unspecified.
SEE ALSO
db(3),
lsearch(3),
qsort(3),
tsearch(3)
STANDARDS
The
bsearch() function conforms to
ANSI
X3.159-1989 (“ANSI C89”).