_ismbblead, _ismbblead_l

Tests a character to determine whether it's a lead byte of a multibyte character.

Syntax

int _ismbblead(
   unsigned int c
);
int _ismbblead_l(
   unsigned int c,
   _locale_t locale
);

Parameters

c
Integer to be tested.

locale
Locale to use.

Return value

Returns a nonzero value if the integer c is the first byte of a multibyte character.

Remarks

Multibyte characters consist of a lead byte followed by a trailing byte. Lead bytes are distinguished by being in a particular range for a given character set. For example, in code page 932 only, lead bytes range from 0x81 - 0x9F and 0xE0 - 0xFC.

_ismbblead uses the current locale for locale-dependent behavior. _ismbblead_l is identical except that it uses the locale passed in instead. For more information, see Locale.

When the locale is UTF-8, _ismbblead and _ismbblead_l always return 0 (false), whether c is a lead byte or not.

_ismbblead and _ismbblead_l are Microsoft-specific, not part of the Standard C library. We don't recommend you use them where you want portable code. For Standard C compatibility, use mbrlen instead.

By default, this function's global state is scoped to the application. To change this behavior, see Global state in the CRT.

Generic-text routine mappings

Tchar.h routine _UNICODE and _MBCS not defined _MBCS defined _UNICODE defined
_istlead Always returns false _ismbblead Always returns false

Requirements

Routine Required header Optional header
_ismbblead <mbctype.h> or <mbstring.h> <ctype.h>,* <limits.h>, <stdlib.h>
_ismbblead_l <mbctype.h> or <mbstring.h> <ctype.h>,* <limits.h>, <stdlib.h>

* For manifest constants for the test conditions.

For more compatibility information, see Compatibility.

See also

Byte classification
_ismbb routines
mbrlen