NAME

       remove - remove a file or directory

SYNOPSIS

       #include <stdio.h>

       int remove(const char *pathname);

DESCRIPTION

       remove() deletes a name from the filesystem.  It calls unlink(2) for files, and rmdir(2) for directories.

       If  the removed name was the last link to a file and no processes have the file open, the file is deleted
       and the space it was using is made available for reuse.

       If the name was the last link to a file, but any processes still have the file open, the file will remain
       in existence until the last file descriptor referring to it is closed.

       If the name referred to a symbolic link, the link is removed.

       If  the  name  referred  to  a socket, FIFO, or device, the name is removed, but processes which have the
       object open may continue to use it.

RETURN VALUE

       On success, zero is returned.  On error, -1 is returned, and errno is set appropriately.

ERRORS

       The errors that occur are those for unlink(2) and rmdir(2).

CONFORMING TO

       C89, C99, 4.3BSD, POSIX.1-2001.

NOTES

       Under libc4 and libc5, remove() was an alias for unlink(2) (and hence would not remove directories).

BUGS

       Infelicities in the protocol underlying NFS can cause the unexpected disappearance  of  files  which  are
       still being used.

SEE ALSO

       rm(1), unlink(1), link(2), mknod(2), open(2), rename(2), rmdir(2), unlink(2), mkfifo(3), symlink(7)

COLOPHON

       This  page  is  part  of  release 3.54 of the Linux man-pages project.  A description of the project, and
       information about reporting bugs, can be found at http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.