bsd man page for setmode

SETMODE(3)						     Library Functions Manual							SETMODE(3)

NAME
       getmode, setmode - modify mode bits

SYNOPSIS
       #include <sys/types.h>

       mode_t
       getmode(set, mode)
       void *set;
       mode_t mode

       void *
       setmode(mode_str)
       char *mode_str;

DESCRIPTION
       The  getmode function returns a copy of the file permission bits mode as altered by the values pointed to by set.  While only the mode bits
       are altered, other parts of the file mode may be examined.

       The setmode function takes an absolute (octal) or symbolic value, as described in chmod(1), as an argument and returns a  pointer  to  mode
       values  to  be supplied to getmode.  Because some of the symbolic values are relative to the file creation mask, setmode may call umask(2).
       If this occurs, the file creation mask will be restored before setmode returns.	If the calling program changes the value of its file  cre-
       ation mask after calling setmode, setmode must be called again if getmode is to modify future file modes correctly.

       If the mode passed to setmode is invalid, setmode returns NULL.

ERRORS
       The setmode function may fail and set errno for any of the errors specified for the library routine malloc(3).

SEE ALSO
       chmod(1), stat(2), umask(2), malloc(3)

HISTORY
       The getmode and setmode functions first appeared in 4.4BSD.

4.4 Berkeley Distribution					 February 20, 1996							SETMODE(3)