4.68 ungetc—push data back into a stream

Synopsis

#include <stdio.h>
int ungetc(int c, FILE *stream);

int _ungetc_r(struct _reent *reent, int c, FILE *stream);

Description
ungetc is used to return bytes back to stream to be read again. If c is EOF, the stream is unchanged. Otherwise, the unsigned char c is put back on the stream, and subsequent reads will see the bytes pushed back in reverse order. Pushed byes are lost if the stream is repositioned, such as by fseek, fsetpos, or rewind.

The underlying file is not changed, but it is possible to push back something different than what was originally read. Ungetting a character will clear the end-of-stream marker, and decrement the file position indicator. Pushing back beyond the beginning of a file gives unspecified behavior.

The alternate function _ungetc_r is a reentrant version. The extra argument reent is a pointer to a reentrancy structure.

Returns
The character pushed back, or EOF on error.

Portability
ANSI C requires ungetc, but only requires a pushback buffer of one byte; although this implementation can handle multiple bytes, not all can. Pushing back a signed char is a common application bug.

Supporting OS subroutines required: sbrk.