2 files changed, 80 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/manual/examples/mkdirent.c b/manual/examples/mkdirent.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f8400f46d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/manual/examples/mkdirent.c
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+/* Example for creating a struct dirent object for use with glob.
+   Copyright (C) 2016 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+
+   This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+   modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
+   as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
+   of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+
+   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+   along with this program; if not, if not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+#include <dirent.h>
+#include <errno.h>
+#include <stddef.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+struct dirent *
+mkdirent (const char *name)
+{
+  size_t dirent_size = offsetof (struct dirent, d_name) + 1;
+  size_t name_length = strlen (name);
+  size_t total_size = dirent_size + name_length;
+  if (total_size < dirent_size)
+    {
+      errno = ENOMEM;
+      return NULL;
+    }
+  struct dirent *result = malloc (total_size);
+  if (result == NULL)
+    return NULL;
+  result->d_type = DT_UNKNOWN;
+  result->d_ino = 1;            /* Do not skip this entry.  */
+  memcpy (result->d_name, name, name_length + 1);
+  return result;
+}
diff --git a/manual/pattern.texi b/manual/pattern.texi
index d1b9275cf9..565e7eb6d4 100644
--- a/manual/pattern.texi
+++ b/manual/pattern.texi
@@ -237,7 +237,44 @@ function used to read the contents of a directory.  It is used if the
 @code{GLOB_ALTDIRFUNC} bit is set in the flag parameter.  The type of
 this field is @w{@code{struct dirent *(*) (void *)}}.
 
-This is a GNU extension.
+An implementation of @code{gl_readdir} needs to initialize the following
+members of the @code{struct dirent} object:
+
+@table @code
+@item d_type
+This member should be set to the file type of the entry if it is known.
+Otherwise, the value @code{DT_UNKNOWN} can be used.  The @code{glob}
+function may use the specified file type to avoid callbacks in cases
+where the file type indicates that the data is not required.
+
+@item d_ino
+This member needs to be non-zero, otherwise @code{glob} may skip the
+current entry and call the @code{gl_readdir} callback function again to
+retrieve another entry.
+
+@item d_name
+This member must be set to the name of the entry.  It must be
+null-terminated.
+@end table
+
+The example below shows how to allocate a @code{struct dirent} object
+containing a given name.
+
+@smallexample
+@include mkdirent.c.texi
+@end smallexample
+
+The @code{glob} function reads the @code{struct dirent} members listed
+above and makes a copy of the file name in the @code{d_name} member
+immediately after the @code{gl_readdir} callback function returns.
+Future invocations of any of the callback functions may dealloacte or
+reuse the buffer.  It is the responsibility of the caller of the
+@code{glob} function to allocate and deallocate the buffer, around the
+call to @code{glob} or using the callback functions.  For example, an
+application could allocate the buffer in the @code{gl_readdir} callback
+function, and deallocate it in the @code{gl_closedir} callback function.
+
+The @code{gl_readdir} member is a GNU extension.
 
 @item gl_opendir
 The address of an alternative implementation of the @code{opendir}