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The C standard library or libc is the standard library for the C programming language, as
specified in the ISO C standard.[1] Starting from the original ANSI C standard, it was developed at
the same time as the C library POSIX specification, which is a superset of it.[2][3] Since ANSI C was
adopted by the International Organization for Standardization,[4] the C standard library is also
called the ISO C library.
The C standard library provides macros, type definitions and functions for tasks such as string
handling, mathematical computations, input/output processing, memory management, and
several other operating system services.
Header files
The application programming interface (API) of the C standard library is declared in a number of
header files. Each header file contains one or more function declarations, data type definitions, and
macros.
After a long period of stability, three new header files (iso646.h, wchar.h, and wctype.h) were
added with Normative Addendum 1 (NA1), an addition to the C Standard ratified in 1995. Six more
header files (complex.h, fenv.h, inttypes.h, stdbool.h, stdint.h, and tgmath.h) were added
with C99, a revision to the C Standard published in 1999, and five more files (stdalign.h,
stdatomic.h, stdnoreturn.h, threads.h, and uchar.h) with C11 in 2011. In total, there are now
29 header files:
Name From Description
Contains the assert macro, used to assist with detecting logical errors and other
<assert.h>
types of bugs in debugging versions of a program.
<threads.h> C11 Defines functions for managing multiple threads, mutexes and condition variables
<time.h> Defines date- and time-handling functions
Three of the header files (complex.h, stdatomic.h, and threads.h) are conditional features that
implementations are not required to support.
The POSIX standard added several nonstandard C headers for Unix-specific functionality. Many
have found their way to other architectures. Examples include fcntl.h and unistd.h. A number
of other groups are using other nonstandard headers – the GNU C Library has alloca.h, and HP
OpenVMS has the va_count() function.
Documentation
Implementations
Unix-like systems typically have a C library in shared library form, but the header files (and
compiler toolchain) may be absent from an installation so C development may not be possible. The
C library is considered part of the operating system on Unix-like systems. The C functions,
including the ISO C standard ones, are widely used by programs, and are regarded as if they were
not only an implementation of something in the C language, but also de facto part of the operating
system interface. Unix-like operating systems generally cannot function if the C library is erased.
This is true for applications which are dynamically as opposed to statically linked. Further, the
kernel itself (at least in the case of Linux) operates independently of any libraries.
On Microsoft Windows, the core system dynamic libraries (DLLs) provide an implementation of
the C standard library for the Microsoft Visual C++ compiler v6.0; the C standard library for newer
versions of the Microsoft Visual C++ compiler is provided by each compiler individually, as well as
redistributable packages. Compiled applications written in C are either statically linked with a C
library, or linked to a dynamic version of the library that is shipped with these applications, rather
than relied upon to be present on the targeted systems. Functions in a compiler's C library are not
regarded as interfaces to Microsoft Windows.
Many other implementations exist, provided with both various operating systems and C compilers.
Some of the popular implementations are the following:
The BSD libc, various implementations distributed with BSD-derived operating systems
GNU C Library (glibc), used in GNU Hurd, GNU/kFreeBSD and Linux
Microsoft C run-time library, part of Microsoft Visual C++
dietlibc, an alternative small implementation of the C standard library (MMU-less)
μClibc, a C standard library for embedded μClinux systems (MMU-less)
uclibc-ng, an embedded C library, fork of μClibc, still maintained, with memory
management unit (MMU) support
Newlib, a C standard library for embedded systems (MMU-less)[5] and used in the Cygwin
GNU distribution for Windows
klibc, primarily for booting Linux systems
musl, another lightweight C standard library implementation for Linux systems[6]
Bionic, originally developed by Google for the Android embedded system operating system,
derived from BSD libc
picolibc (https://keithp.com/picolibc), developed by Keith Packard, targeting small embedded
systems with limited RAM, based on code from Newlib and AVR Libc (https://www.nongnu.org/
avr-libc/)
Some compilers (for example, GCC[7]) provide built-in versions of many of the functions in the C
standard library; that is, the implementations of the functions are written into the compiled object
file, and the program calls the built-in versions instead of the functions in the C library shared
object file. This reduces function-call overhead, especially if function calls are replaced with inline
variants, and allows other forms of optimization (as the compiler knows the control-flow
characteristics of the built-in variants), but may cause confusion when debugging (for example, the
built-in versions cannot be replaced with instrumented variants).
However, the built-in functions must behave like ordinary functions in accordance with ISO C. The
main implication is that the program must be able to create a pointer to these functions by taking
their address, and invoke the function by means of that pointer. If two pointers to the same
function are derived in two different translation units in the program, these two pointers must
compare equal; that is, the address comes by resolving the name of the function, which has
external (program-wide) linkage.
Linking, libm
Under FreeBSD[8] and glibc,[9] some functions such as sin() are not linked in by default and are
instead bundled in the mathematical library libm. If any of them are used, the linker must be given
the directive -lm. POSIX requires that the c99 compiler supports -lm, and that the functions
declared in the headers math.h, complex.h, and fenv.h are available for linking if -lm is
specified, but does not specify if the functions are linked by default.[10] musl satisfies this
requirement by putting everything into a single libc library and providing an empty libm.[11]
Detection
Some functions in the C standard library have been notorious for having buffer overflow
vulnerabilities and generally encouraging buggy programming ever since their adoption.[a] The
most criticized items are:
string-manipulation routines, including strcpy() and strcat(), for lack of bounds checking
and possible buffer overflows if the bounds aren't checked manually;
string routines in general, for side-effects, encouraging irresponsible buffer usage, not always
guaranteeing valid null-terminated output, linear length calculation;[b]
printf() family of routines, for spoiling the execution stack when the format string doesn't
match the arguments given. This fundamental flaw created an entire class of attacks: format
string attacks;
gets() and scanf() family of I/O routines, for lack of (either any or easy) input length
checking.
Except the extreme case with gets(), all the security vulnerabilities can be avoided by introducing
auxiliary code to perform memory management, bounds checking, input checking, etc. This is
often done in the form of wrappers that make standard library functions safer and easier to use.
This dates back to as early as The Practice of Programming book by B. Kernighan and R. Pike
where the authors commonly use wrappers that print error messages and quit the program if an
error occurs.
The ISO C committee published Technical reports TR 24731-1[12] and is working on TR 24731-2[13]
to propose adoption of some functions with bounds checking and automatic buffer allocation,
correspondingly. The former has met severe criticism with some praise,[14][15] the latter received
mixed responses. Despite this, TR 24731-1 has been implemented into Microsoft's C standard
library and its compiler issues warnings when using old "insecure" functions.
The strerror() routine is criticized for being thread unsafe and otherwise vulnerable to race
conditions.
Error handling
The error handling of the functions in the C standard library is not consistent and sometimes
confusing. According to the Linux manual page math_error, "The current (version 2.8) situation
under glibc is messy. Most (but not all) functions raise exceptions on errors. Some also set errno. A
few functions set errno, but don't raise an exception. A very few functions do neither."[16]
Standardization
The original C language provided no built-in functions such as I/O operations, unlike traditional
languages such as COBOL and Fortran. Over time, user communities of C shared ideas and
implementations of what is now called C standard libraries. Many of these ideas were incorporated
eventually into the definition of the standardized C language.
Both Unix and C were created at AT&T's Bell Laboratories in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
During the 1970s the C language became increasingly popular. Many universities and
organizations began creating their own variants of the language for their own projects. By the
beginning of the 1980s compatibility problems between the various C implementations became
apparent. In 1983 the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) formed a committee to
establish a standard specification of C known as "ANSI C". This work culminated in the creation of
the so-called C89 standard in 1989. Part of the resulting standard was a set of software libraries
called the ANSI C standard library.
BSD libc
BSD libc is a superset of the POSIX standard library supported by the C libraries included with
BSD operating systems such as FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD and macOS. BSD libc has some
extensions that are not defined in the original standard, many of which first appeared in 1994's
4.4BSD release (the first to be largely developed after the first standard was issued in 1989). Some
of the extensions of BSD libc are:
See also
C++ Standard Library
Notes
a. Morris worm that takes advantage of the well-known vulnerability in gets() have been created
as early as in 1988.
b. in C standard library, string length calculation and looking for a string's end have linear time
complexities and are inefficient when used on the same or related strings repeatedly
References
1. ISO/IEC (2018). ISO/IEC 9899:2018(E): Programming Languages - C §7
2. "The GNU C Library – Introduction" (http://ftp.gnu.org/old-gnu/Manuals/glibc-2.2.3/html_chapte
r/libc_1.html). gnu.org. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
3. "Difference between C standard library and C POSIX library" (https://stackoverflow.com/questio
ns/9376837/difference-bewteen-c-standard-library-and-c-posix-library). stackoverflow.com.
2012. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
4. "C Standards" (http://www.keil.com/support/docs/1893.htm). C: C Standards. Keil. Retrieved
24 November 2011.
5. "Re: Does Newlib support mmu-less CPUs?" (https://web.archive.org/web/20081122063741/htt
p://www.cygwin.com/ml/newlib/2006/msg00224.html). Cygwin.com. 23 March 2006. Archived
from the original (http://www.cygwin.com/ml/newlib/2006/msg00224.html) on 22 November
2008. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
6. "musl libc" (http://www.etalabs.net/musl/). Etalabs.net. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
7. Other built-in functions provided by GCC (https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc-4.1.1/gcc/Other-B
uiltins.html#Other-Builtins), GCC Manual
8. "Compiling with cc" (http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/developers-handboo
k/tools-compiling.html). Retrieved 2013-03-02.
9. Weimer, Florian. "c - What functions is the libm intended for?" (https://stackoverflow.com/questi
ons/54054925/what-functions-is-the-libm-intended-for). Stack Overflow. Retrieved 24 February
2021.
10. "c99 - compile standard C programs" (https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilit
ies/c99.html). The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, 2018 edition. The Open Group.
Retrieved 24 February 2021.
11. "musl FAQ" (https://www.musl-libc.org/faq.html). www.musl-libc.org. Retrieved 24 February
2021.
12. "ISO/IEC TR 24731-1: Extensions to the C Library, Part I: Bounds-checking interfaces" (http://w
ww.open-std.org/JTC1/SC22/WG14/www/docs/n1225.pdf) (PDF). open-std.org. 2007-03-28.
Retrieved 2014-03-13.
13. "ISO/IEC WDTR 24731-2: Extensions to the C Library, Part II: Dynamic Allocation Functions"
(http://www.open-std.org/JTC1/SC22/WG14/www/docs/n1337.pdf) (PDF). open-std.org. 2008-
08-10. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
14. Do you use the TR 24731 'safe' functions in your C code? (https://stackoverflow.com/question
s/372980/do-you-use-the-tr-24731-safe-functions-in-your-c-code) - Stack overflow
15. "Austin Group Review of ISO/IEC WDTR 24731" (http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg14/ww
w/docs/n1106.txt). Retrieved 28 October 2011.
16. "math_error - detecting errors from mathematical functions" (http://man7.org/linux/man-pages/
man7/math_error.7.html). man7.org. 2008-08-11. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
17. "tree" (http://man.freebsd.org/tree). Man.freebsd.org. 2007-12-27. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
18. "Super User's BSD Cross Reference: /OpenBSD/sys/sys/tree.h" (http://bxr.su/o/sys/sys/tree.h).
bxr.su.
19. "queue" (http://man.freebsd.org/queue). Man.freebsd.org. 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
20. "Super User's BSD Cross Reference: /OpenBSD/sys/sys/queue.h" (http://bxr.su/o/sys/sys/queu
e.h). bxr.su.
21. "fgetln" (http://man.freebsd.org/fgetln). Man.freebsd.org. 1994-04-19. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
22. "Super User's BSD Cross Reference: /OpenBSD/lib/libc/stdio/fgetln.c" (http://bxr.su/o/lib/libc/st
dio/fgetln.c#fgetln). bxr.su.
23. "Super User's BSD Cross Reference: /OpenBSD/include/stdio.h" (http://bxr.su/o/include/stdio.
h). bxr.su.
24. "fts" (http://man.freebsd.org/fts). Man.freebsd.org. 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
25. "Super User's BSD Cross Reference: /OpenBSD/include/fts.h" (http://bxr.su/o/include/fts.h).
bxr.su.
26. "db" (http://man.freebsd.org/db). Man.freebsd.org. 2010-09-10. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
27. "Super User's BSD Cross Reference: /OpenBSD/include/db.h" (http://bxr.su/o/include/db.h).
bxr.su.
28. Miller, Todd C. and Theo de Raadt. strlcpy and strlcat - consistent, safe, string copy and
concatenation (http://www.usenix.org/events/usenix99/millert.html). Proceedings of the 1999
USENIX Annual Technical Conference, June 6–11, 1999, pp. 175–178.
29. "Super User's BSD Cross Reference: /OpenBSD/lib/libc/string/strlcat.c" (http://bxr.su/o/lib/libc/s
tring/strlcat.c). bxr.su.
30. "Super User's BSD Cross Reference: /OpenBSD/lib/libc/string/strlcpy.c" (http://bxr.su/o/lib/libc/s
tring/strlcpy.c). bxr.su.
31. "Super User's BSD Cross Reference: /OpenBSD/lib/libc/string/strncat.c" (http://bxr.su/o/lib/libc/
string/strncat.c). bxr.su.
32. "Super User's BSD Cross Reference: /OpenBSD/lib/libc/string/strncpy.c" (http://bxr.su/o/lib/libc/
string/strncpy.c). bxr.su.
33. "err" (http://man.freebsd.org/err). Man.freebsd.org. 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
34. "Super User's BSD Cross Reference: /OpenBSD/include/err.h" (http://bxr.su/o/include/err.h).
bxr.su.
35. "vis(3)" (http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=vis&sektion=3&apropos=0&manpath=Free
BSD+9.1-RELEASE). Man.FreeBSD.org. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
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37. "Super User's BSD Cross Reference: /OpenBSD/include/vis.h" (http://bxr.su/o/include/vis.h).
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38. "The Python Standard Library: 6.9. File Objects" (https://docs.python.org/library/stdtypes.html#
bltin-file-objects). Docs.python.org. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
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Further reading
Plauger, P.J. (1992). The Standard C library (1 ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0131315099.
External links
The C Library Reference Guide (https://web.archive.org/web/20150118141700/http://www.acm.
uiuc.edu/webmonkeys/book/c_guide/index.html)
Handy list of which headers are in which standard (http://www.schweikhardt.net/identifiers.html)
Microsoft Universal C runtime routines by category (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/c-run
time-library/run-time-routines-by-category) on MSDN
NetBSD C libraries manual (http://netbsd.gw.com/cgi-bin/man-cgi?intro+3+NetBSD-current)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20151223092755/http://netbsd.gw.com/cgi-bin/man-cgi?i
ntro+3+NetBSD-current) 2015-12-23 at the Wayback Machine and full C library source (http://B
XR.SU/NetBSD/lib/libc/)
Manual pages for the original C standard libraries in Unix (http://man.cat-v.org/unix-1st/3/)