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(libc.info)Standard Streams

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Standard Streams
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   When the `main' function of your program is invoked, it already has
three predefined streams open and available for use.  These represent
the "standard" input and output channels that have been established for
the process.

   These streams are declared in the header file `stdio.h'.

 - Variable: FILE * stdin
     The "standard input" stream, which is the normal source of input
     for the program.

 - Variable: FILE * stdout
     The "standard output" stream, which is used for normal output from
     the program.

 - Variable: FILE * stderr
     The "standard error" stream, which is used for error messages and
     diagnostics issued by the program.

   In the GNU system, you can specify what files or processes
correspond to these streams using the pipe and redirection facilities
provided by the shell.  (The primitives shells use to implement these
facilities are described in Note: File System Interface.)  Most other
operating systems provide similar mechanisms, but the details of how to
use them can vary.

   In the GNU C library, `stdin', `stdout', and `stderr' are normal
variables which you can set just like any others.  For example, to
redirect the standard output to a file, you could do:

     fclose (stdout);
     stdout = fopen ("standard-output-file", "w");

   Note however, that in other systems `stdin', `stdout', and `stderr'
are macros that you cannot assign to in the normal way.  But you can
use `freopen' to get the effect of closing one and reopening it.  Note:
Opening Streams.

   The three streams `stdin', `stdout', and `stderr' are not unoriented
at program start (Note: Streams and I18N).