NAME

       sigset, sighold, sigrelse, sigignore - System V signal API

SYNOPSIS

       #include <signal.h>

       typedef void (*sighandler_t)(int);

       sighandler_t sigset(int sig, sighandler_t disp);

       int sighold(int sig);

       int sigrelse(int sig);

       int sigignore(int sig);

   Feature Test Macro Requirements for glibc (see feature_test_macros(7)):

       sigset(), sighold(), sigrelse(), sigignore():
           _XOPEN_SOURCE >= 500

DESCRIPTION

       These  functions are provided in glibc as a compatibility interface for programs that make
       use of the historical System V signal API.  This API is obsolete: new applications  should
       use the POSIX signal API (sigaction(2), sigprocmask(2), etc.)

       The  sigset()  function modifies the disposition of the signal sig.  The disp argument can
       be the address of a signal handler function, or one of the following constants:

       SIG_DFL
              Reset the disposition of sig to the default.

       SIG_IGN
              Ignore sig.

       SIG_HOLD
              Add sig to the process's signal mask, but leave the disposition of sig unchanged.

       If disp specifies the address of a signal handler, then sig  is  added  to  the  process's
       signal mask during execution of the handler.

       If  disp  was  specified  as  a  value  other  than SIG_HOLD, then sig is removed from the
       process's signal mask.

       The dispositions for SIGKILL and SIGSTOP cannot be changed.

       The sighold() function adds sig to the calling process's signal mask.

       The sigrelse() function removes sig from the calling process's signal mask.

       The sigignore() function sets the disposition of sig to SIG_IGN.

RETURN VALUE

       On success, sigset() returns SIG_HOLD if sig was blocked before the call, or the  signal's
       previous  disposition  if  it was not blocked before the call.  On error, sigset() returns
       -1, with errno set to indicate the error.  (But see BUGS below.)

       The sighold(), sigrelse(), and sigignore() functions return 0 on success; on error,  these
       functions return -1 and set errno to indicate the error.

ERRORS

       For sigset() see the ERRORS under sigaction(2) and sigprocmask(2).

       For sighold() and sigrelse() see the ERRORS under sigprocmask(2).

       For sigignore(), see the errors under sigaction(2).

ATTRIBUTES

       For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see attributes(7).

       ┌────────────────────────┬───────────────┬─────────┐
       │Interface               │ Attribute     │ Value   │
       ├────────────────────────┼───────────────┼─────────┤
       │sigset(), sighold(),    │ Thread safety │ MT-Safe │
       │sigrelse(), sigignore() │               │         │
       └────────────────────────┴───────────────┴─────────┘

CONFORMING TO

       SVr4,  POSIX.1-2001,  POSIX.1-2008.   These functions are obsolete: do not use them in new
       programs.   POSIX.1-2008  marks  sighold(),  sigignore(),  sigpause(3),  sigrelse(),   and
       sigset()   as   obsolete,   recommending   the   use   of   sigaction(2),  sigprocmask(2),
       pthread_sigmask(3), and sigsuspend(2) instead.

NOTES

       These functions appeared in glibc version 2.1.

       The sighandler_t type is a GNU extension; it is  used  on  this  page  only  to  make  the
       sigset() prototype more easily readable.

       The  sigset()  function  provides  reliable  signal  handling  semantics  (as when calling
       sigaction(2) with sa_mask equal to 0).

       On System V,  the  signal()  function  provides  unreliable  semantics  (as  when  calling
       sigaction(2)  with sa_mask equal to SA_RESETHAND | SA_NODEFER).  On BSD, signal() provides
       reliable semantics.  POSIX.1-2001 leaves  these  aspects  of  signal()  unspecified.   See
       signal(2) for further details.

       In  order  to  wait  for  a  signal,  BSD  and  System  V  both  provided a function named
       sigpause(3), but this  function  has  a  different  argument  on  the  two  systems.   See
       sigpause(3) for details.

BUGS

       In  versions  of glibc before 2.2, sigset() did not unblock sig if disp was specified as a
       value other than SIG_HOLD.

       In versions of  glibc  before  2.5,  sigset()  does  not  correctly  return  the  previous
       disposition  of  the signal in two cases.  First, if disp is specified as SIG_HOLD, then a
       successful sigset() always returns SIG_HOLD.   Instead,  it  should  return  the  previous
       disposition of the signal (unless the signal was blocked, in which case SIG_HOLD should be
       returned).  Second, if the signal is  currently  blocked,  then  the  return  value  of  a
       successful  sigset()  should be SIG_HOLD.  Instead, the previous disposition of the signal
       is returned.  These problems have been fixed since glibc 2.5.

SEE ALSO

       kill(2),  pause(2),  sigaction(2),  signal(2),  sigprocmask(2),   raise(3),   sigpause(3),
       sigvec(3), signal(7)

COLOPHON

       This  page  is  part of release 4.15 of the Linux man-pages project.  A description of the
       project, information about reporting bugs, and the latest version of  this  page,  can  be
       found at https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.