The nl_langinfo() function returns a pointer to a null-terminated string containing information relevant to a particular language or cultural area defined in the programs locale. The manifest constant names and values of item are defined by <langinfo.h>. For example:

nl_langinfo (ABDAY_1);

would return a pointer to the string "Dim" if the identified language was French and a French locale was correctly installed; or "Sun" if the identified language was English.

If setlocale(3C) has not been called successfully, or if data for a supported language is either not available, or if item is not defined therein, then nl_langinfo() returns a pointer to the corresponding string in the C locale. In all locales, nl_langinfo() returns a pointer to an empty string if item contains an invalid setting.

The nl_langinfo() function can be used safely in multithreaded applications, as long as setlocale(3C) is not being called to change the locale.

See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

setlocale(3C), attributes(5), langinfo(3HEAD), nl_types(3HEAD)

The array pointed to by the return value should not be modified by the program. Subsequent calls to nl_langinfo() may overwrite the array.