There is a glob() function you can use in POSIX C also to get an array of strings.
The getdents system call being used in the above program is the basis for implementing readdir.
It doesn't return a string, but rather a buffer of multiple directory entries.
The program isn't parsing a giant string; it is parsing out the directory entry structures, which are variable length and have a length field so the next one can be found.
The program writes each name including the null terminator, so that the output is suitable for utilities which understand that.
The problem is the phrase “suitable for shell pipelines”. If you are in a shell, you should not be doing anything like this. You should use a glob directly in the shell. You should not be calling an external program, having that program print out something, and then parsing it. Just use a glob right there in your shell script. If you do anything else, you are doing it wrong.
The getdents system call being used in the above program is the basis for implementing readdir.
It doesn't return a string, but rather a buffer of multiple directory entries.
The program isn't parsing a giant string; it is parsing out the directory entry structures, which are variable length and have a length field so the next one can be found.
The program writes each name including the null terminator, so that the output is suitable for utilities which understand that.