_mbsnbcmp, _mbsnbcmp_l

Article
12/21/2012

Compares the first n bytes of two multibyte-character strings.

Important

This API cannot be used in applications that execute in the Windows Runtime. For more information, see CRT functions not supported with /ZW.

int _mbsnbcmp(
   const unsigned char *string1,
   const unsigned char *string2,
   size_t count 
);
int _mbsnbcmp_l(
   const unsigned char *string1,
   const unsigned char *string2,
   size_t count,
   _locale_t locale
);

Parameters

string1, string2
The strings to compare.
count
The number of bytes to compare.
locale
The locale to use.

Return Value

The return value indicates the relationship between the substrings of string1 and string.

Return value	Description
< 0	string1 substring is less than string2 substring.
0	string1 substring is identical to string2 substring.
> 0	string1 substring is greater than string2 substring.

On an error, _mbsnbcmp returns _NLSCMPERROR, which is defined in String.h and Mbstring.h.

Remarks

The _mbsnbcmp function lexicographically compares, at most, the first count bytes in string1 and string2 and returns a value that indicates the relationship between the substrings. _mbsnbcmp is a case-sensitive version of _mbsnbicmp. Unlike strcoll, _mbsnbcmp is not affected by locale. _mbsnbcmp recognizes multibyte-character sequences according to the current multibyte code page.

_mbsnbcmp resembles _mbsncmp, except that _mbsncmp compares strings by characters rather than by bytes.

The output value is affected by the LC_CTYPE category setting of the locale; see setlocale for more information. The version of this function that doesn't have the _l suffix uses the current locale for this locale-dependent behavior; the version that has the _l suffix is identical except that it uses the locale parameter that's passed in instead. For more information, see Locale.

If either string1 or string2 is a null pointer, this function invokes the invalid parameter handler, as described in Parameter Validation. If execution is allowed to continue, the function returns _NLSCMPERROR and errno is set to EINVAL.

Generic-Text Routine Mappings

Tchar.h routine	_UNICODE and _MBCS not defined	_MBCS defined	_UNICODE defined
_tcsncmp	strncmp	_mbsnbcmp	wcsncmp
_tcsncmp_l	strncmp	_mbsnbcml	wcsncmp

Requirements

Routine	Required header
_mbsnbcmp	<mbstring.h>
_mbsnbcmp_l	<mbstring.h>

For more compatibility information, see Compatibility.

Example

// crt_mbsnbcmp.c
#include <mbstring.h>
#include <stdio.h>

char string1[] = "The quick brown dog jumps over the lazy fox";
char string2[] = "The QUICK brown fox jumps over the lazy dog";

int main( void )
{
   char tmp[20];
   int result;
   printf( "Compare strings:\n          %s\n", string1 );
   printf( "          %s\n\n", string2 );
   printf( "Function: _mbsnbcmp (first 10 characters only)\n" );
   result = _mbsncmp( string1, string2 , 10 );
   if( result > 0 )
      _mbscpy_s( tmp, sizeof(tmp), "greater than" );
   else if( result < 0 )
      _mbscpy_s( tmp, sizeof(tmp), "less than" );
   else
      _mbscpy_s( tmp, sizeof(tmp), "equal to" );
   printf( "Result:   String 1 is %s string 2\n\n", tmp );
   printf( "Function: _mbsnicmp _mbsnicmp (first 10 characters only)\n" );
   result = _mbsnicmp( string1, string2, 10 );
   if( result > 0 )
      _mbscpy_s( tmp, sizeof(tmp), "greater than" );
   else if( result < 0 )
      _mbscpy_s( tmp, sizeof(tmp), "less than" );
   else
      _mbscpy_s( tmp, sizeof(tmp), "equal to" );
   printf( "Result:   String 1 is %s string 2\n\n", tmp );
}

Output

Compare strings:
          The quick brown dog jumps over the lazy fox
          The QUICK brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

Function: _mbsnbcmp (first 10 characters only)
Result:   String 1 is greater than string 2

Function: _mbsnicmp _mbsnicmp (first 10 characters only)
Result:   String 1 is equal to string 2

.NET Framework Equivalent

Not applicable. To call the standard C function, use PInvoke. For more information, see Platform Invoke Examples.

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