The
scandir() function reads the directory
dirname and builds an array of pointers to directory entries using
malloc(3). It returns the number of entries in the array. A pointer to the array of directory entries is stored in the location referenced by
namelist.
The
select parameter is a pointer to a user supplied subroutine which is called by
scandir() to select which entries are to be included in the array. The select routine is passed a pointer to a directory entry and should return a non-zero value if the directory entry is to be included in the array. If
select is null, then all the directory entries will be included.
The
compar parameter is a pointer to a user supplied subroutine which is passed to
qsort(3) to sort the completed array. If this pointer is null, the array is not sorted.
The
alphasort() function is a routine which can be used for the
compar parameter to sort the array alphabetically.
The memory allocated for the array can be deallocated with
free(3), by freeing each pointer in the array and then the array itself.