fread

Defined in header `<stdio.h>`
size_t fread( void buffer, size_t size, size_t count, FILE stream );		(until C99)
size_t fread( void restrict buffer, size_t size, size_t count, FILE restrict stream );		(since C99)

Reads up to count objects into the array buffer from the given input stream stream as if by calling fgetc size times for each object, and storing the results, in the order obtained, into the successive positions of buffer, which is reinterpreted as an array of unsigned char. The file position indicator for the stream is advanced by the number of characters read.

If an error occurs, the resulting value of the file position indicator for the stream is indeterminate. If a partial element is read, its value is indeterminate.

Parameters

buffer	-	pointer to the array where the read objects are stored
size	-	size of each object in bytes
count	-	the number of the objects to be read
stream	-	the stream to read

Return value

Number of objects read successfully, which may be less than count if an error or end-of-file condition occurs.

If size or count is zero, fread returns zero and performs no other action.

fread does not distinguish between end-of-file and error, and callers must use feof and ferror to determine which occurred.

Language
headers
Type support
Dynamic memory management
Error handling
Program utilities
Variadic function support
Date and time utilities
Strings library
Algorithms
Numerics
Input/output support
Localization support
Thread support (C11)
Atomic operations (C11)
Technical Specifications