SEM_OPEN(3P) POSIX Programmer's Manual SEM_OPEN(3P)
PROLOG
This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. The Linux implementation of this interface may differ (consult the correspond-
ing Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may not be implemented on Linux.
NAME
sem_open -- initialize and open a named semaphore
SYNOPSIS
#include <semaphore.h>
sem_t *sem_open(const char *name, int oflag, ...);
DESCRIPTION
The sem_open() function shall establish a connection between a named semaphore and a process. Following a call to sem_open() with semaphore
name name, the process may reference the semaphore associated with name using the address returned from the call. This semaphore may be
used in subsequent calls to sem_wait(), sem_timedwait(), sem_trywait(), sem_post(), and sem_close(). The semaphore remains usable by this
process until the semaphore is closed by a successful call to sem_close(), _exit(), or one of the exec functions.
The oflag argument controls whether the semaphore is created or merely accessed by the call to sem_open(). The following flag bits may be
set in oflag:
O_CREAT This flag is used to create a semaphore if it does not already exist. If O_CREAT is set and the semaphore already exists, then
O_CREAT has no effect, except as noted under O_EXCL. Otherwise, sem_open() creates a named semaphore. The O_CREAT flag requires a
third and a fourth argument: mode, which is of type mode_t, and value, which is of type unsigned. The semaphore is created with
an initial value of value. Valid initial values for semaphores are less than or equal to {SEM_VALUE_MAX}.
The user ID of the semaphore shall be set to the effective user ID of the process. The group ID of the semaphore shall be set to
the effective group ID of the process; however, if the name argument is visible in the file system, the group ID may be set to
the group ID of the containing directory. The permission bits of the semaphore are set to the value of the mode argument except
those set in the file mode creation mask of the process. When bits in mode other than the file permission bits are specified, the
effect is unspecified.
After the semaphore named name has been created by sem_open() with the O_CREAT flag, other processes can connect to the semaphore
by calling sem_open() with the same value of name.
O_EXCL If O_EXCL and O_CREAT are set, sem_open() fails if the semaphore name exists. The check for the existence of the semaphore and
the creation of the semaphore if it does not exist are atomic with respect to other processes executing sem_open() with O_EXCL
and O_CREAT set. If O_EXCL is set and O_CREAT is not set, the effect is undefined.
If flags other than O_CREAT and O_EXCL are specified in the oflag parameter, the effect is unspecified.
The name argument points to a string naming a semaphore object. It is unspecified whether the name appears in the file system and is visi-
ble to functions that take pathnames as arguments. The name argument conforms to the construction rules for a pathname, except that the
interpretation of <slash> characters other than the leading <slash> character in name is implementation-defined, and that the length limits
for the name argument are implementation-defined and need not be the same as the pathname limits {PATH_MAX} and {NAME_MAX}. If name begins
with the <slash> character, then processes calling sem_open() with the same value of name shall refer to the same semaphore object, as long
as that name has not been removed. If name does not begin with the <slash> character, the effect is implementation-defined.
If a process makes multiple successful calls to sem_open() with the same value for name, the same semaphore address shall be returned for
each such successful call, provided that there have been no calls to sem_unlink() for this semaphore, and at least one previous successful
sem_open() call for this semaphore has not been matched with a sem_close() call.
References to copies of the semaphore produce undefined results.
RETURN VALUE
Upon successful completion, the sem_open() function shall return the address of the semaphore. Otherwise, it shall return a value of
SEM_FAILED and set errno to indicate the error. The symbol SEM_FAILED is defined in the <semaphore.h> header. No successful return from
sem_open() shall return the value SEM_FAILED.
ERRORS
If any of the following conditions occur, the sem_open() function shall return SEM_FAILED and set errno to the corresponding value:
EACCES The named semaphore exists and the permissions specified by oflag are denied, or the named semaphore does not exist and permission
to create the named semaphore is denied.
EEXIST O_CREAT and O_EXCL are set and the named semaphore already exists.
EINTR The sem_open() operation was interrupted by a signal.
EINVAL The sem_open() operation is not supported for the given name, or O_CREAT was specified in oflag and value was greater than
{SEM_VALUE_MAX}.
EMFILE Too many semaphore descriptors or file descriptors are currently in use by this process.
ENFILE Too many semaphores are currently open in the system.
ENOENT O_CREAT is not set and the named semaphore does not exist.
ENOMEM There is insufficient memory for the creation of the new named semaphore.
ENOSPC There is insufficient space on a storage device for the creation of the new named semaphore.
If any of the following conditions occur, the sem_open() function may return SEM_FAILED and set errno to the corresponding value:
ENAMETOOLONG
The length of the name argument exceeds {_POSIX_PATH_MAX} on systems that do not support the XSI option or exceeds {_XOPEN_PATH_MAX}
on XSI systems, or has a pathname component that is longer than {_POSIX_NAME_MAX} on systems that do not support the XSI option or
longer than {_XOPEN_NAME_MAX} on XSI systems.
The following sections are informative.
EXAMPLES
None.
APPLICATION USAGE
None.
RATIONALE
Early drafts required an error return value of -1 with the type sem_t * for the sem_open() function, which is not guaranteed to be portable
across implementations. The revised text provides the symbolic error code SEM_FAILED to eliminate the type conflict.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
A future version might require the sem_open() and sem_unlink() functions to have semantics similar to normal file system operations.
SEE ALSO
semctl(), semget(), semop(), sem_close(), sem_post(), sem_timedwait(), sem_trywait(), sem_unlink()
The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1-2008, <semaphore.h>
COPYRIGHT
Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2013 Edition, Standard for Information Technol-
ogy -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, Copyright (C) 2013 by the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. (This is POSIX.1-2008 with the 2013 Technical Corrigendum 1 applied.) In the
event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Stan-
dard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.unix.org/online.html .
Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of the source
files to man page format. To report such errors, see https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .
IEEE
/The Open Group 2013 SEM_OPEN(3P)