getconf [-v environment] system_var

DESCRIPTION

     The getconf utility prints the value of a POSIX or X/Open path or system
     configuration variable to the standard output.  If the specified variable
     is undefined, the string ``undefined'' is output.

     The first form of the command, with two mandatory arguments, retrieves
     file- and file system-specific configuration variables using pathconf(2).
     The second form, with a single argument, retrieves system configuration
     variables using confstr(3) and sysconf(3), depending on the type of vari-
     able.  As an extension, the second form can also be used to query static
     limits from <limits.h>.

     All sysconf(3) and pathconf(2) variables use the same name as the mani-
     fest constants defined in the relevant standard C-language bindings,
     including any leading underscore or prefix.  That is to say, system_var
     might be ARG_MAX or _POSIX_VERSION, as opposed to the sysconf(3) names
     _SC_ARG_MAX or _SC_POSIX_VERSION.  Variables retrieved from confstr(3)
     have the leading `_CS_' stripped off; thus, _CS_PATH is queried by a
     system_var of ``PATH''.

   Programming Environments
     The -v environment option specifies a IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 (``POSIX.1'')
     programming environment under which the values are to be queried.  This
     option currently does nothing, but may in the future be used to select
     between 32-bit and 64-bit execution environments on platforms which sup-
     port both.  Specifying an environment which is not supported on the cur-
     rent execution platform gives undefined results.

     The standard programming environments are as follows:

           POSIX_V6_ILP32_OFF32   Exactly 32-bit integer, long, pointer, and
                                  file offset.  Supported platforms: None.

           POSIX_V6_ILP32_OFFBIG  Exactly 32-bit integer, long, and pointer;
                                  at least 64-bit file offset.  Supported
                                  platforms: IA32, PowerPC.

           POSIX_V6_LP64_OFF64    Exactly 32-bit integer; exactly 64-bit long,
                                  pointer, and file offset.  Supported
                                  platforms: Alpha, SPARC64.

           POSIX_V6_LPBIG_OFFBIG  At least 32-bit integer; at least 64-bit
                                  long, pointer, and file offset.  Supported
                                  platforms: None.

     The command:

           getconf POSIX_V6_WIDTH_RESTRICTED_ENVS

     returns a newline-separated list of environments in which the width of

EXAMPLES

     The command:

           getconf PATH

     will display the system default setting for the PATH environment vari-
     able.

     The command:

           getconf NAME_MAX /tmp

     will display the maximum length of a filename in the /tmp directory.

     The command:

           getconf -v POSIX_V6_LPBIG_OFFBIG LONG_MAX

     will display the maximum value of the C type long in the
     POSIX_V6_LPBIG_OFFBIG programming environment, if the system supports
     that environment.

SEE ALSO

     pathconf(2), confstr(3), sysconf(3)

STANDARDS

     The getconf utility is expected to be compliant with IEEE Std 1003.1-2001
     (``POSIX.1'').

HISTORY

     The getconf utility first appeared in FreeBSD 5.0.

AUTHORS

     Garrett A. Wollman <wollman@lcs.mit.edu>

BSD                           September 18, 2002                           BSD