+extern int uci_parse_argument(struct uci_context *ctx, FILE *stream, char **str, char **result);
+
+/**
+ * uci_set_backend: change the default backend
+ * @ctx: uci context
+ * @name: name of the backend
+ *
+ * The default backend is "file", which uses /etc/config for config storage
+ */
+extern int uci_set_backend(struct uci_context *ctx, const char *name);
+
+/**
+ * uci_validate_text: validate a value string for uci options
+ * @str: value
+ *
+ * this function checks whether a given string is acceptable as value
+ * for uci options
+ */
+extern bool uci_validate_text(const char *str);