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(libc.info)Directory Entries

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Format of a Directory Entry
---------------------------

   This section describes what you find in a single directory entry, as
you might obtain it from a directory stream.  All the symbols are
declared in the header file `dirent.h'.

 - Data Type: struct dirent
     This is a structure type used to return information about directory
     entries.  It contains the following fields:

    `char d_name[]'
          This is the null-terminated file name component.  This is the
          only field you can count on in all POSIX systems.

    `ino_t d_fileno'
          This is the file serial number.  For BSD compatibility, you
          can also refer to this member as `d_ino'.  In the GNU system
          and most POSIX systems, for most files this the same as the
          `st_ino' member that `stat' will return for the file.  Note:
          File Attributes.

    `unsigned char d_namlen'
          This is the length of the file name, not including the
          terminating null character.  Its type is `unsigned char'
          because that is the integer type of the appropriate size

    `unsigned char d_type'
          This is the type of the file, possibly unknown.  The
          following constants are defined for its value:

         `DT_UNKNOWN'
               The type is unknown.  On some systems this is the only
               value returned.

         `DT_REG'
               A regular file.

         `DT_DIR'
               A directory.

         `DT_FIFO'
               A named pipe, or FIFO.  Note: FIFO Special Files.

         `DT_SOCK'
               A local-domain socket.

         `DT_CHR'
               A character device.

         `DT_BLK'
               A block device.

          This member is a BSD extension.  The symbol
          `_DIRENT_HAVE_D_TYPE' is defined if this member is available.
          On systems where it is used, it corresponds to the file type
          bits in the `st_mode' member of `struct statbuf'.  If the
          value cannot be determine the member value is DT_UNKNOWN.
          These two macros convert between `d_type' values and
          `st_mode' values:

           - Function: int IFTODT (mode_t MODE)
               This returns the `d_type' value corresponding to MODE.

           - Function: mode_t DTTOIF (int DTYPE)
               This returns the `st_mode' value corresponding to DTYPE.

     This structure may contain additional members in the future.  Their
     availability is always announced in the compilation environment by
     a macro names `_DIRENT_HAVE_D_XXX' where XXX is replaced by the
     name of the new member.  For instance, the member `d_reclen'
     available on some systems is announced through the macro
     `_DIRENT_HAVE_D_RECLEN'.

     When a file has multiple names, each name has its own directory
     entry.  The only way you can tell that the directory entries
     belong to a single file is that they have the same value for the
     `d_fileno' field.

     File attributes such as size, modification times etc., are part of
     the file itself, not of any particular directory entry.  Note:
     File Attributes.