putenv - change or add an environment variable
#include <stdlib.h>
int putenv(char *string);
Feature Test Macro Requirements for glibc (see
feature_test_macros(7)):
putenv(): _XOPEN_SOURCE
|| /* Glibc since 2.19: */ _DEFAULT_SOURCE
|| /* Glibc versions <= 2.19: */ _SVID_SOURCE
The
putenv() function adds or changes the value of environment variables.
The argument
string is of the form
name=
value. If
name does not already exist in the environment, then
string is
added to the environment. If
name does exist, then the value of
name in the environment is changed to
value. The string pointed
to by
string becomes part of the environment, so altering the string
changes the environment.
The
putenv() function returns zero on success, or nonzero if an error
occurs. In the event of an error,
errno is set to indicate the cause.
- ENOMEM
- Insufficient space to allocate new environment.
For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see
attributes(7).
Interface |
Attribute |
Value |
putenv () |
Thread safety |
MT-Unsafe const:env |
POSIX.1-2001, POSIX.1-2008, SVr4, 4.3BSD.
The
putenv() function is not required to be reentrant, and the one in
glibc 2.0 is not, but the glibc 2.1 version is.
Since version 2.1.2, the glibc implementation conforms to SUSv2: the pointer
string given to
putenv() is used. In particular, this string
becomes part of the environment; changing it later will change the
environment. (Thus, it is an error to call
putenv() with an automatic
variable as the argument, then return from the calling function while
string is still part of the environment.) However, glibc versions 2.0
to 2.1.1 differ: a copy of the string is used. On the one hand this causes a
memory leak, and on the other hand it violates SUSv2.
The 4.4BSD version, like glibc 2.0, uses a copy.
SUSv2 removes the
const from the prototype, and so does glibc 2.1.3.
The GNU C library implementation provides a nonstandard extension. If
string does not include an equal sign:
putenv("NAME");
then the named variable is removed from the caller's environment.
clearenv(3),
getenv(3),
setenv(3),
unsetenv(3),
environ(7)