04-14-2009
System calls are usually done by setting a certain register to a certain value and raising a certain interrupt, thus telling the kernel to do a certain thing to a certain different address.
Anything written as "certain ..." is different for each OS and sometimes even versions of the same OS. System calls are usually hidden behind the C library and should stay there, unless you want to start writing assembler code.
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LEARN ABOUT BSD
siginterrupt
SIGINTERRUPT(3) Library Functions Manual SIGINTERRUPT(3)
NAME
siginterrupt - allow signals to interrupt system calls
SYNOPSIS
siginterrupt(sig, flag);
int sig, flag;
DESCRIPTION
Siginterrupt is used to change the system call restart behavior when a system call is interrupted by the specified signal. If the flag is
false (0), then system calls will be restarted if they are interrupted by the specified signal and no data has been transferred yet. Sys-
tem call restart is the default behavior on 4.2 BSD.
If the flag is true (1), then restarting of system calls is disabled. If a system call is interrupted by the specified signal and no data
has been transferred, the system call will return -1 with errno set to EINTR. Interrupted system calls that have started transferring data
will return the amount of data actually transferred. System call interrupt is the signal behavior found on 4.1 BSD and AT&T System V UNIX
systems.
Note that the new 4.2 BSD signal handling semantics are not altered in any other way. Most notably, signal handlers always remain
installed until explicitly changed by a subsequent sigvec(2) call, and the signal mask operates as documented in sigvec(2). Programs may
switch between restartable and interruptible system call operation as often as desired in the execution of a program.
Issuing a siginterrupt(3) call during the execution of a signal handler will cause the new action to take place on the next signal to be
caught.
NOTES
This library routine uses an extension of the sigvec(2) system call that is not available in 4.2BSD, hence it should not be used if back-
ward compatibility is needed.
RETURN VALUE
A 0 value indicates that the call succeeded. A -1 value indicates that an invalid signal number has been supplied.
SEE ALSO
sigvec(2), sigblock(2), sigpause(2), sigsetmask(2).
4.3 Berkeley Distribution May 15, 1985 SIGINTERRUPT(3)