errno, _doserrno, _sys_errlist, and _sys_nerr

Global macros that hold error codes that are set during program execution, and string equivalents of the error codes for display.

Syntax

#define errno   (*_errno())
#define _doserrno   (*__doserrno())
#define _sys_errlist (__sys_errlist())
#define _sys_nerr (*__sys_nerr())

Remarks

Both errno and _doserrno are set to 0 by the runtime during program startup. errno is set on an error in a system-level call. Because errno holds the value for the last call that set it, this value may be changed by succeeding calls. Run-time library calls that set errno on an error don't clear errno on success. Always clear errno by calling _set_errno(0) immediately before a call that may set it, and check it immediately after the call.

On an error, errno isn't necessarily set to the same value as the error code returned by a system call. For I/O operations, _doserrno stores the operating-system error-code equivalents of errno codes. For most non-I/O operations, the value of _doserrno isn't set.

Each errno value is associated with an error message in _sys_errlist that can be printed by using one of the perror functions, or stored in a string by using one of the strerror or strerror_s functions. The perror and strerror functions use the _sys_errlist array and _sys_nerr—the number of elements in _sys_errlist—to process error information. Direct access to _sys_errlist and _sys_nerr is deprecated for code-security reasons. We recommend that you use the more secure, functional versions instead of the global macros, as shown here:

Global macro	Functional equivalents
_doserrno	_get_doserrno, _set_doserrno
errno	_get_errno, _set_errno
_sys_errlist, _sys_nerr	strerror_s, _strerror_s, _wcserror_s, __wcserror_s

Library math routines set errno by calling _matherr. To handle math errors differently, write your own routine according to the _matherr reference description and name it _matherr.

All errno values are predefined constants in <errno.h>, and are UNIX-compatible. Only ERANGE, EILSEQ, and EDOM are specified in the ISO C99 standard. For a complete list, see errno constants.

Requirements

Global macro	Required header	Optional header
errno	<errno.h> or <stdlib.h>, <cerrno> or <cstdlib> (C++)
_doserrno, _sys_errlist, _sys_nerr	<stdlib.h>, <cstdlib> (C++)	<errno.h>, <cerrno> (C++)

The _doserrno, _sys_errlist, and _sys_nerr macros are Microsoft extensions. For more compatibility information, see Compatibility.

See also

Global variables
errno constants
perror, _wperror
strerror, _strerror, _wcserror, __wcserror
strerror_s, _strerror_s, _wcserror_s, __wcserror_s
_get_doserrno
_set_doserrno
_get_errno
_set_errno