opensolaris man page for sem_init

sem_init(3C)						   Standard C Library Functions 					      sem_init(3C)

NAME
       sem_init - initialize an unnamed semaphore

SYNOPSIS
       #include <semaphore.h>

       int sem_init(sem_t *sem, int pshared, unsigned int value);

DESCRIPTION
       The  sem_init()	function  is used to initialize the unnamed semaphore referred to by sem. The value of the initialized semaphore is value.
       Following a successful call to sem_init(), the semaphore may be used in subsequent calls to  sem_wait(3C),  sem_trywait(3C),  sem_post(3C),
       and sem_destroy(3C). This semaphore remains usable until the semaphore is destroyed.

       If the pshared argument has a non-zero value, then the semaphore is shared between processes; in this case, any process that can access the
       semaphore sem can use sem for performing sem_wait(3C), sem_trywait(3C), sem_post(3C), and sem_destroy(3C) operations.

       Only sem itself may be used for performing synchronization. The result of referring to copies of sem in	calls  to  sem_wait(3C),  sem_try-
       wait(3C), sem_post(3C), and sem_destroy(3C), is undefined.

       If  the	pshared  argument is zero, then the semaphore is shared between threads of the process; any thread in this process can use sem for
       performing sem_wait(3C), sem_trywait(3C), sem_post(3C), and sem_destroy(3C) operations. The use of the  semaphore  by  threads  other  than
       those created in the same process is undefined.

       Attempting to initialize an already initialized semaphore results in undefined behavior.

RETURN VALUES
       Upon successful completion, the function initializes the semaphore in sem. Otherwise, it returns -1 and sets errno to indicate the error.

ERRORS
       The sem_init() function will fail if:

       EINVAL	  The value argument exceeds  SEM_VALUE_MAX.

       ENOSPC	  A  resource  required  to  initialize  the  semaphore  has been exhausted, or the resources have reached the limit on semaphores
		  (SEM_NSEMS_MAX).

       ENOSYS	  The sem_init() function is not supported by the system.

       EPERM	  The process lacks the appropriate privileges to initialize the semaphore.

ATTRIBUTES
       See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |ATTRIBUTE TYPE		     |ATTRIBUTE VALUE		   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |Interface Stability	     |Committed 		   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |MT-Level		     |MT-Safe			   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |Standard		     |See standards(5). 	   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+

SEE ALSO
       sem_destroy(3C), sem_post(3C), sem_wait(3C), attributes(5), standards(5)

SunOS 5.11							    5 Feb 2008							      sem_init(3C)