std::basic_filebuf::setbuf(3)

NAME
std::basic_filebuf::setbuf - std::basic_filebuf::setbuf

Synopsis
   protected:
   virtual std::basic_streambuf<CharT, Traits>* setbuf( char_type* s, std::streamsize
   n )
   If s is a null pointer and n is zero, the filebuf becomes unbuffered for output,
   meaning pbase() and pptr() are null and any output is immediately sent to file.
   Otherwise, a call to setbuf() replaces the internal buffer (the controlled character
   sequence) with the user-supplied character array whose first element is pointed to
   by s and allows this std::basic_filebuf object to use up to n bytes in that array
   for buffering.
   This function is protected virtual, it may only be called through pubsetbuf() or
   from member functions of a user-defined class derived from std::basic_filebuf.

Parameters
   s - pointer to the first CharT in the user-provided buffer or null
   n - the number of CharT elements in the user-provided buffer or zero

Return value
   this

Notes
   The conditions when this function may be used and the way in which the provided
   buffer is used is implementation-defined.
     * GCC 4.6 libstdc++
   setbuf() may only be called when the std::basic_filebuf is not associated with a
   file (has no effect otherwise). With a user-provided buffer, reading from file reads
   n-1 bytes at a time.
     * Clang++3.0 libc++
   setbuf() may be called after opening the file, but before any I/O (may crash
   otherwise). With a user-provided buffer, reading from file reads largest multiples
   of 4096 that fit in the buffer.
     * Visual Studio 2010
   setbuf() may be called at any time, even after some I/O took place. Current contents
   of the buffer, if any, are lost.
   The standard does not define any behavior for this function except that setbuf(0, 0)
   called before any I/O has taken place is required to set unbuffered output.

Example
   Provides a 10k buffer for reading. On linux, the strace utility may be used to
   observe the actual number of bytes read. // Run this code
 #include <fstream>
 #include <iostream>
 #include <string>
 int main()
 {
     int cnt = 0;
     std::ifstream file;
     char buf[10241];
     file.rdbuf()->pubsetbuf(buf, sizeof buf);
     file.open("/usr/share/dict/words");
     for (std::string line; getline(file, line);)
         ++cnt;
     std::cout << cnt << '\n';
 }

Possible output:
 356010
   Defect reports
   The following behavior-changing defect reports were applied retroactively to
   previously published C++ standards.
     DR Applied to Behavior as published Correct behavior
   LWG 173 C++98 the type of n was misspecified as corrected to std::streamsize
                      int

See also
   pubsetbuf invokes setbuf()
             (public member function of std::basic_streambuf<CharT,Traits>)
   setvbuf sets the buffer and its size for a file stream
             (function)