nl_init(S)                     6 January 1993                     nl_init(S)


 Name

    nl_init - initializes native language support operation

 Syntax


    cc  . . .  -lintl


    int nl_init (lang)
    char * lang;


 Description

    The nlinit routine is provided as an alternative interface to the
    setlocale(S) routine, for programs written to the  X/OPEN Portability
    Guide standard.  However, nlinit has been withdrawn from XPG3.

    The nlinit routine initializes native language support operation for the
    language identified by lang, which is a pointer to a string containing
    settings of language, territory and codeset as defined for the LANG
    environment variable (see environ(M)).

    Typically, nlinit is used to bind program operation to the user's speci-
    fied language requirements, for example:

       nl_init(getenv("LANG"));

    A call to nlinit fails if the string pointed to by lang does not iden-
    tify a valid language/territory/codeset combination.  In this case,
    operation continues for the language identified on the last successful
    call.

 Return value

    If successful, nlinit returns 0 (zero).  Otherwise, -1 is returned.

 Notes

    Calls to nlinit can be used to switch operation from one supported lan-
    guage to another.  It is not necessary to call nlinit to set the initial
    language for an application; this is done by the automatic setlocale call
    at program startup.

    The nlinit routine is not as flexible an interface as that provided by
    setlocale.

 See also

    environ(M), getenv(S), locale(M), setlocale(S)

 Standards conformance

    nlinit is an extension of AT&T System V provided by the Santa Cruz
    Operation.