SEM_OPEN(3) BSD Library Functions Manual SEM_OPEN(3)
NAME
sem_open, sem_close, sem_unlink -- named semaphore operations
LIBRARY
Standard C Library (libc, -lc)
SYNOPSIS
#include <semaphore.h>
sem_t *
sem_open(const char *name, int oflag, ...);
int
sem_close(sem_t *sem);
int
sem_unlink(const char *name);
DESCRIPTION
The sem_open() function creates or opens the named semaphore specified by name. The returned semaphore may be used in subsequent calls to
sem_getvalue(3), sem_wait(3), sem_trywait(3), sem_post(3), and sem_close().
This implementation places strict requirements on the value of name: it must begin with a slash ('/') and contain no other slash characters.
The following bits may be set in the oflag argument:
O_CREAT Create the semaphore if it does not already exist.
The third argument to the call to sem_open() must be of type mode_t and specifies the mode for the semaphore. Only the S_IWUSR,
S_IWGRP, and S_IWOTH bits are examined; it is not possible to grant only ``read'' permission on a semaphore. The mode is modified
according to the process's file creation mask; see umask(2).
The fourth argument must be an unsigned int and specifies the initial value for the semaphore, and must be no greater than
SEM_VALUE_MAX.
O_EXCL Create the semaphore if it does not exist. If the semaphore already exists, sem_open() will fail. This flag is ignored unless
O_CREAT is also specified.
The sem_close() function closes a named semaphore that was opened by a call to sem_open().
The sem_unlink() function removes the semaphore named name. Resources allocated to the semaphore are only deallocated when all processes
that have the semaphore open close it.
RETURN VALUES
If successful, the sem_open() function returns the address of the opened semaphore. If the same name argument is given to multiple calls to
sem_open() by the same process without an intervening call to sem_close(), the same address is returned each time. If the semaphore cannot
be opened, sem_open() returns SEM_FAILED and the global variable errno is set to indicate the error.
The sem_close() and sem_unlink() functions return the value 0 if successful; otherwise the value -1 is returned and the global variable errno
is set to indicate the error.
ERRORS
The sem_open() function will fail if:
[EACCES] The semaphore exists and the permissions specified by oflag at the time it was created deny access to this process.
[EACCES] The semaphore does not exist, but permission to create it is denied.
[EEXIST] O_CREAT and O_EXCL are set but the semaphore already exists.
[EINTR] The call was interrupted by a signal.
[EINVAL] The sem_open() operation is not supported for the given name.
[EINVAL] The value argument is greater than SEM_VALUE_MAX.
[ENAMETOOLONG] The name argument is too long.
[ENFILE] The system limit on semaphores has been reached.
[ENOENT] O_CREAT is not set but the named semaphore does not exist.
[ENOSPC] There is not enough space to create the semaphore.
The sem_close() function will fail if:
[EINVAL] The sem argument is not a valid semaphore.
The sem_unlink() function will fail if:
[EACCES] Permission is denied to unlink the semaphore.
[ENAMETOOLONG] The specified name is too long.
[ENOENT] The named semaphore does not exist.
SEE ALSO
close(2), open(2), umask(2), unlink(2), sem_getvalue(3), sem_post(3), sem_trywait(3), sem_wait(3)
STANDARDS
The sem_open(), sem_close(), and sem_unlink() functions conform to ISO/IEC 9945-1:1996 (``POSIX.1'').
HISTORY
Support for named semaphores first appeared in FreeBSD 5.0.
BSD
January 9, 2010 BSD