searching for files with stat in /bin

Question

hi im trying to write a code that will search for file in /bin directory and identify if the file actually exist, my code always turns ERROR and i don't really get why can you give me a clue?

#include <unistd.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdlib.h> 
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
#define MAX 4096

int main() 
{  
    while(1)
    {
       char input[MAX];
       struct stat buf;
       const char *space=" ";
       fgets(input, MAX, stdin);
       char *token;
       token = strtok(input, space);

            if (!strncmp(token,"/bin/",5))
                {    
                    if (stat(token,&buf)==-1)
                    {
                       perror(token);
                       printf( "ERROR\n");
                    }
                    else
                    {  
                 printf("FILE EXISTS\n");     
                    }  
                 }
    }
 return 0;
}

here's input and what it returns:

/bin/ls

: No such file or directory
ERROR

DISCLAIMER: i've just corrected question and added more so you guys can understand the problem better dont scream at me.

Please give the exact test input. Also, call `perror` to get a more detailed failure reason in the ERROR case. — kaylum, Jan 21 '21 at 11:05
@alk It's perfectly ok if there are only comments and no answers — klutt, Jan 21 '21 at 11:13
Is the code you show *now*, the code you ran *before* you posed your question? — alk, Jan 21 '21 at 11:20
@alk yes, its just a part of it turned into shorter code, but it works the same way — mxsgd, Jan 21 '21 at 11:24
@alk Comments are meant to be temporary and they are used to make OP clarify their post. — klutt, Jan 21 '21 at 11:26

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 21 '21 at 11:22

From the fgets manual:

If a newline is read, it is stored into the buffer.

That is, the code currently tries to check "/bin/ls\n" rather than "/bin/ls".

Fix by first stripping the trailing newline character. One way:

const char *delim = " \n";
fgets(input, MAX, stdin);
const char *token = strtok(input, delim);

searching for files with stat in /bin

1 Answers1