gd_alias_target - Man Page
determine the target of an alias defined in a Dirfile database
Synopsis
#include <getdata.h>
const char *gd_alias_target(DIRFILE *dirfile, const char *alias_name);
Description
The gd_alias_target() function queries a dirfile(5) database specified by dirfile and determines the target field code of the alias specified by alias_name.
The dirfile argument must point to a valid DIRFILE object previously created by a call to gd_open(3).
Note: the target may itself be the an alias, which will have its own target. To obtain the canonical name of the field ultimately referenced by alias_name, pass it to gd_entry(3) and inspect the field member of the gd_entry_t structure returned.
Return Value
Upon successful completion, gd_alias_target() returns a pointer to a read-only character string containing the name of the target of the specified alias. On error, gd_alias_target() returns NULL and sets the dirfile error a non-zero error value. Possible error values are:
- GD_E_BAD_CODE
The name alias_name was not found in the dirfile. GD_E_BAD_DIRFILE The supplied dirfile was invalid.
- GD_E_BAD_FIELD_TYPE
The entry specified by alias_name was not an alias.
The dirfile error may be retrieved by calling gd_error(3). A descriptive error string for the last error encountered can be obtained from a call to gd_error_string(3).
History
The function gd_alias_target() appeared in GetData-0.8.0.
See Also
Referenced By
gd_add_alias(3), gd_aliases(3), gd_naliases(3).