SYNOPSIS
#include
char *strcpy(char *dest, const char *src);
char *strncpy(char *dest, const char *src, size_t n);
DESCRIPTION
strcpy simply copy's the string in
src to the location pointed to by
dest. Woe betide you if the space pointed to by
dest is not large enough, as this
str function will gladly overwrite any memory past that point, which is why it's probably wiser to use
strncpy, which only copy's the first
n bytes.
In cases where n is greater than the length of src (which is determined by the location of the standard null terminator), the extra space is padded with nulls. In cases where n is less than the length of src, no null characters will be present.
NOTES
This is a function where
it is critical to allocate enough memory. You will get
screwed over if you do not have enough space allocated and you do a straight
strcpy. Some checks with
strlen, or simply using
strncpy, would be much safer.
Programming Rule #1: Never Assume User Input Is What You Expect.