oracular (3) sem_open.3posix.gz
PROLOG
This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. The Linux implementation of this interface
may differ (consult the corresponding Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface
may not be implemented on Linux.
NAME
sem_open — initialize and open a named semaphore
SYNOPSIS
#include <semaphore.h> sem_t *sem_open(const char *name, int oflag, ...);
DESCRIPTION
The sem_open() function shall establish a connection between a named semaphore and a process. Following a
call to sem_open() with semaphore name name, the process may reference the semaphore associated with name
using the address returned from the call. This semaphore may be used in subsequent calls to sem_wait(),
sem_timedwait(), sem_trywait(), sem_post(), and sem_close(). The semaphore remains usable by this
process until the semaphore is closed by a successful call to sem_close(), _exit(), or one of the exec
functions.
The oflag argument controls whether the semaphore is created or merely accessed by the call to
sem_open(). The following flag bits may be set in oflag:
O_CREAT This flag is used to create a semaphore if it does not already exist. If O_CREAT is set and
the semaphore already exists, then O_CREAT has no effect, except as noted under O_EXCL.
Otherwise, sem_open() creates a named semaphore. The O_CREAT flag requires a third and a fourth
argument: mode, which is of type mode_t, and value, which is of type unsigned. The semaphore
is created with an initial value of value. Valid initial values for semaphores are less than
or equal to {SEM_VALUE_MAX}.
The user ID of the semaphore shall be set to the effective user ID of the process. The group ID
of the semaphore shall be set to the effective group ID of the process; however, if the name
argument is visible in the file system, the group ID may be set to the group ID of the
containing directory. The permission bits of the semaphore are set to the value of the mode
argument except those set in the file mode creation mask of the process. When bits in mode
other than the file permission bits are specified, the effect is unspecified.
After the semaphore named name has been created by sem_open() with the O_CREAT flag, other
processes can connect to the semaphore by calling sem_open() with the same value of name.
O_EXCL If O_EXCL and O_CREAT are set, sem_open() fails if the semaphore name exists. The check for the
existence of the semaphore and the creation of the semaphore if it does not exist are atomic
with respect to other processes executing sem_open() with O_EXCL and O_CREAT set. If O_EXCL is
set and O_CREAT is not set, the effect is undefined.
If flags other than O_CREAT and O_EXCL are specified in the oflag parameter, the effect is
unspecified.
The name argument points to a string naming a semaphore object. It is unspecified whether the name
appears in the file system and is visible to functions that take pathnames as arguments. The name
argument conforms to the construction rules for a pathname, except that the interpretation of <slash>
characters other than the leading <slash> character in name is implementation-defined, and that the
length limits for the name argument are implementation-defined and need not be the same as the pathname
limits {PATH_MAX} and {NAME_MAX}. If name begins with the <slash> character, then processes calling
sem_open() with the same value of name shall refer to the same semaphore object, as long as that name has
not been removed. If name does not begin with the <slash> character, the effect is implementation-
defined.
If a process makes multiple successful calls to sem_open() with the same value for name, the same
semaphore address shall be returned for each such successful call, provided that there have been no calls
to sem_unlink() for this semaphore, and at least one previous successful sem_open() call for this
semaphore has not been matched with a sem_close() call.
References to copies of the semaphore produce undefined results.
RETURN VALUE
Upon successful completion, the sem_open() function shall return the address of the semaphore. Otherwise,
it shall return a value of SEM_FAILED and set errno to indicate the error. The symbol SEM_FAILED is
defined in the <semaphore.h> header. No successful return from sem_open() shall return the value
SEM_FAILED.
ERRORS
If any of the following conditions occur, the sem_open() function shall return SEM_FAILED and set errno
to the corresponding value:
EACCES The named semaphore exists and the permissions specified by oflag are denied, or the named
semaphore does not exist and permission to create the named semaphore is denied.
EEXIST O_CREAT and O_EXCL are set and the named semaphore already exists.
EINTR The sem_open() operation was interrupted by a signal.
EINVAL The sem_open() operation is not supported for the given name, or O_CREAT was specified in oflag
and value was greater than {SEM_VALUE_MAX}.
EMFILE Too many semaphore descriptors or file descriptors are currently in use by this process.
ENFILE Too many semaphores are currently open in the system.
ENOENT O_CREAT is not set and the named semaphore does not exist.
ENOMEM There is insufficient memory for the creation of the new named semaphore.
ENOSPC There is insufficient space on a storage device for the creation of the new named semaphore.
If any of the following conditions occur, the sem_open() function may return SEM_FAILED and set errno to
the corresponding value:
ENAMETOOLONG
The length of the name argument exceeds {_POSIX_PATH_MAX} on systems that do not support the XSI
option or exceeds {_XOPEN_PATH_MAX} on XSI systems, or has a pathname component that is longer
than {_POSIX_NAME_MAX} on systems that do not support the XSI option or longer than
{_XOPEN_NAME_MAX} on XSI systems.
The following sections are informative.
EXAMPLES
None.
APPLICATION USAGE
None.
RATIONALE
Early drafts required an error return value of -1 with the type sem_t * for the sem_open() function,
which is not guaranteed to be portable across implementations. The revised text provides the symbolic
error code SEM_FAILED to eliminate the type conflict.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
A future version might require the sem_open() and sem_unlink() functions to have semantics similar to
normal file system operations.
SEE ALSO
semctl(), semget(), semop(), sem_close(), sem_post(), sem_timedwait(), sem_trywait(), sem_unlink()
The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2017, <semaphore.h>
COPYRIGHT
Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard
for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright (C) 2018 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original
IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document.
The original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .
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