MKNOD(2) BSD System Calls Manual MKNOD(2)
NAME
mknod -- make a special file node
SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/stat.h>
int
mknod(const char *path, mode_t mode, dev_t dev);
DESCRIPTION
The device special file path is created with the major and minor device numbers extracted from mode. The access permissions of path are con-
strained by the umask(2) of the parent process.
If mode indicates a block or character special file, dev is a configuration-dependent specification of a character or block I/O device and
the superblock of the device. If mode does not indicate a block special or character special device, dev is ignored.
Mknod() requires super-user privileges.
RETURN VALUES
Upon successful completion, a value of 0 is returned. Otherwise, a value of -1 is returned and errno is set to indicate the error.
ERRORS
Mknod() will fail and the file will be not created if:
[EACCES] Search permission is denied for a component of the path prefix.
[EACCES] Write permission is denied for the parent directory.
[EDQUOT] The directory in which the entry for the new node is being placed cannot be extended; the user's quota of disk blocks on
the file system containing the directory has been exhausted.
[EDQUOT] The user's quota of inodes for the file system on which the node is being created has been exhausted.
[EEXIST] The named file exists.
[EFAULT] Path points outside the process's allocated address space.
[EINVAL] One or more of the arguments is invalid.
[EIO] An I/O error occurs while making the directory entry or allocating the inode.
[ELOOP] Too many symbolic links were encountered in translating the pathname. This is taken to be indicative of a looping sym-
bolic link.
[ENAMETOOLONG] A component of a pathname exceeds {NAME_MAX} characters or an entire path name exceeds {PATH_MAX} characters.
[ENOENT] A component of the path prefix does not exist or path is an empty string.
[ENOSPC] The directory in which the entry for the new node is being placed cannot be extended, because there is no space left on
the file system containing the directory.
[ENOSPC] There are no free inodes on the file system on which the node is being created.
[ENOTDIR] A component of the path prefix is not a directory.
[EPERM] The process's effective user ID is not super-user.
[EROFS] The created node would reside on a read-only file system.
LEGACY SYNOPSIS
#include <unistd.h>
The include file has changed.
SEE ALSO
chmod(2), stat(2), umask(2), compat(5)
HISTORY
A mknod() function call appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.
4th Berkeley Distribution June 4, 1993 4th Berkeley Distribution