NAME

       mkfifo - make a FIFO special file (a named pipe)

SYNOPSIS

       #include <sys/types.h>
       #include <sys/stat.h>

       int mkfifo ( const char *pathname, mode_t mode );

DESCRIPTION

       mkfifo  makes  a  FIFO  special  file  with  name pathname.  mode specifies the FIFO's permissions. It is
       modified by the process's umask in the usual way: the  permissions  of  the  created  file  are  (mode  &
       ~umask).

       A FIFO special file is similar to a pipe, except that it is created in a different way.  Instead of being
       an anonymous communications channel, a FIFO special file is entered  into  the  file  system  by  calling
       mkfifo.

       Once you have created a FIFO special file in this way, any process can open it for reading or writing, in
       the same way as an ordinary file.  However, it has to be open at both ends simultaneously before you  can
       proceed  to  do  any  input or output operations on it.  Opening a FIFO for reading normally blocks until
       some other process opens the same FIFO for writing, and vice versa. See fifo(4) for non-blocking handling
       of FIFO special files.

RETURN VALUE

       The  normal, successful return value from mkfifo is 0.  In the case of an error, -1 is returned (in which
       case, errno is set appropriately).

ERRORS

       EACCES One of the directories in pathname did not allow search (execute) permission.

       EEXIST pathname already exists.

       ENAMETOOLONG
              Either the total length of pathname is greater than PATH_MAX, or an individual file name component
              has  a length greater than NAME_MAX.  In the GNU system, there is no imposed limit on overall file
              name length, but some file systems may place limits on the length of a component.

       ENOENT A directory component in pathname does not exist or is a dangling symbolic link.

       ENOSPC The directory or filesystem has no room for the new file.

       ENOTDIR
              A component used as a directory in pathname is not, in fact, a directory.

       EROFS  pathname refers to a read-only filesystem.

CONFORMING TO

       POSIX.1

SEE ALSO

       mkfifo(1), read(2), write(2), open(2), close(2), stat(2), umask(2), fifo(4)