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NAME

BIO_s_file, BIO_new_file, BIO_new_fp, BIO_set_fp, BIO_get_fp, BIO_read_filename, BIO_write_filename, BIO_append_filename, BIO_rw_filename — FILE bio

SYNOPSIS

#include <openssl/bio.h>
BIO_METHOD *
BIO_s_file(void);
BIO *
BIO_new_file(const char *filename, const char *mode);
BIO *
BIO_new_fp(FILE *stream, int flags);
long
BIO_set_fp(BIO *b, FILE *fp, int flags);
long
BIO_get_fp(BIO *b, FILE **fpp);
int
BIO_read_filename(BIO *b, char *name);
int
BIO_write_filename(BIO *b, char *name);
int
BIO_append_filename(BIO *b, char *name);
int
BIO_rw_filename(BIO *b, char *name);

DESCRIPTION

BIO_s_file() returns the BIO file method. As its name implies, it is a wrapper around the stdio FILE structure and it is a source/sink BIO.
Calls to BIO_read(3) and BIO_write(3) read and write data to the underlying stream. BIO_gets(3) and BIO_puts(3) are supported on file BIOs.
BIO_flush(3) on a file BIO calls the fflush(3) function on the wrapped stream.
BIO_reset(3) attempts to change the file pointer to the start of file using fseek(stream, 0, 0).
BIO_seek(3) sets the file pointer to position ofs from the start of the file using fseek(stream, ofs, 0).
BIO_eof(3) calls feof(3).
Setting the BIO_CLOSE flag calls fclose(3) on the stream when the BIO is freed.
BIO_new_file() creates a new file BIO with mode mode. The meaning of mode is the same as for the stdio function fopen(3). The BIO_CLOSE flag is set on the returned BIO.
BIO_new_fp() creates a file BIO wrapping stream. Flags can be: BIO_CLOSE, BIO_NOCLOSE (the close flag), BIO_FP_TEXT (sets the underlying stream to text mode, default is binary: this only has any effect under Win32).
BIO_set_fp() set the file pointer of a file BIO to fp. flags has the same meaning as in BIO_new_fp(). BIO_set_fp() is a macro.
BIO_get_fp() retrieves the file pointer of a file BIO, it is a macro.
BIO_seek(3) is a macro that sets the position pointer to offset bytes from the start of file.
BIO_tell(3) returns the value of the position pointer.
BIO_read_filename(), BIO_write_filename(), BIO_append_filename(), and BIO_rw_filename() set the file BIO b to use file name for reading, writing, append or read write respectively.

NOTES

When wrapping stdout, stdin, or stderr, the underlying stream should not normally be closed, so the BIO_NOCLOSE flag should be set.
Because the file BIO calls the underlying stdio functions, any quirks in stdio behaviour will be mirrored by the corresponding BIO.
On Windows, BIO_new_files() reserves for the filename argument to be UTF-8 encoded. In other words, if you have to make it work in a multi-lingual environment, encode file names in UTF-8.

RETURN VALUES

BIO_s_file() returns the file BIO method.
BIO_new_file() and BIO_new_fp() return a file BIO or NULL if an error occurred.
BIO_set_fp() and BIO_get_fp() return 1 for success or 0 for failure (although the current implementation never returns 0).
BIO_seek(3) returns the same value as the underlying fseek(3) function: 0 for success or -1 for failure.
BIO_tell(3) returns the current file position.
BIO_read_filename(), BIO_write_filename(), BIO_append_filename(), and BIO_rw_filename() return 1 for success or 0 for failure.

EXAMPLES

File BIO "hello world":
BIO *bio_out; 
bio_out = BIO_new_fp(stdout, BIO_NOCLOSE); 
BIO_printf(bio_out, "Hello World\n");
Alternative technique:
BIO *bio_out; 
bio_out = BIO_new(BIO_s_file()); 
if(bio_out == NULL) /* Error ... */ 
if(!BIO_set_fp(bio_out, stdout, BIO_NOCLOSE)) /* Error ... */ 
BIO_printf(bio_out, "Hello World\n");
Write to a file:
BIO *out; 
out = BIO_new_file("filename.txt", "w"); 
if(!out) /* Error occurred */ 
BIO_printf(out, "Hello World\n"); 
BIO_free(out);
Alternative technique:
BIO *out; 
out = BIO_new(BIO_s_file()); 
if(out == NULL) /* Error ... */ 
if(!BIO_write_filename(out, "filename.txt")) /* Error ... */ 
BIO_printf(out, "Hello World\n"); 
BIO_free(out);

SEE ALSO

BIO_read(3), BIO_seek(3)

BUGS

BIO_reset(3) and BIO_seek(3) are implemented using fseek(3) on the underlying stream. The return value for fseek(3) is 0 for success or -1 if an error occurred. This differs from other types of BIO which will typically return 1 for success and a non positive value if an error occurred.
Copyright 2011-2025 Jonas 'Sortie' Termansen and contributors.
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