'\" t
.\"  @(#)pathconf.2v 1.20 90/02/15 SMI; new for 4.1, POSIX
.TH PATHCONF 2V "21 January 1990"
.SH NAME
pathconf, fpathconf \- query file system related limits and options
.SH SYNOPSIS
.nf
.ft B
#include <unistd.h>
.ft R
.fi
.LP
.nf
.ft B
long pathconf(path, name)
char *path;
int name;
.ft R
.fi
.LP
.nf
.ft B
long fpathconf(fd, name)
int fd, name;
.ft R
.fi
.SH DESCRIPTION
.IX "pathconf get" "" "\fLpathconf()\fP \(em query file system related limits and options" ""
.IX "fpathconf get" "" "\fLfpathconf()\fP \(em query file system related limits and options" ""
.IX path "query file system related limits and options"
.IX configure "query file system related limits and options"
.LP
.B pathconf(\|)
and
.B fpathconf(\|)
provide a
method for the application to determine the current value of a
configurable limit or option that is associated with a file
or directory,
.LP
For 
.BR pathconf(\|) ,
.I path
points to the pathname of a file or
directory.
For 
.BR fpathconf(\|) ,
.I fd 
is an open file descriptor.
.LP
The convention used throughout sections 2 and 3
is that
.SM {LIMIT}
means that
.SM LIMIT
is something that
can change from file to file (due to multiple file systems on the same 
machine). The actual value for
.SM LIMIT is typically 
not defined in any header file since
it is not invariant.  Instead, pathconf must be called to retrieve the value.
.B pathconf(\|)
understands a list of flags that are named similarly to the value
being queried.  
.LP
The following table lists the name and meaning of each conceptual limit.
.LP
.RS
.TS
lI lI
l l .
Limit	Meaning	Notes
_
\s-1{LINK_MAX}\s0	Max links to an object.	1
\s-1{MAX_CANON}\s0	Max tty input line size.	2
\s-1{MAX_INPUT}\s0	Max packet a tty can accept at once.	2
\s-1{NAME_MAX}\s0	Max filename length.	3,4
\s-1{PATH_MAX}\s0	Max pathname length.	4,5
\s-1{PIPE_BUF}\s0	Pipe buffer size.	6
\s-1{_POSIX_CHOWN_RESTRICTED}\s0	T{
If true only root can chown() files, 
otherwise anyone may give away
files.
T}	7
\s-1{_POSIX_NO_TRUNC}\s0	T{
If false filenames > {NAME_MAX} are 
truncated, otherwise an error.
T}	3,4
\s-1{_POSIX_VDISABLE}\s0	A char to use to disable tty special chars.	2
.TE
.RE
.LP
The following table lists the name of each limit, the flag
passed to
.B pathconf(\|)
to retrieve the value of each variable, and some notes about usage.
.LP
.RS
.TS
lI lI lI
l lB l .
Limit	Pathconf Flag	Notes
_
\s-1{LINK_MAX}\s0	\s-1_PC_LINK_MAX\s0	1
\s-1{MAX_CANON}\s0	\s-1_PC_MAX_CANON\s0	2
\s-1{MAX_INPUT}\s0	\s-1_PC_MAX_INPUT\s0	2
\s-1{NAME_MAX}\s0	\s-1_PC_NAME_MAX\s0	3,4
\s-1{PATH_MAX}\s0	\s-1_PC_PATH_MAX\s0	4,5
\s-1{PIPE_BUF}\s0	\s-1_PC_PIPE_BUF\s0	6
\s-1{_POSIX_CHOWN_RESTRICTED}\s0	\s-1_PC_CHOWN_RESTRICTED\s0	7,8
\s-1{_POSIX_NO_TRUNC}\s0	\s-1_PC_NO_TRUNC\s0	3,4,8
\s-1{_POSIX_VDISABLE}\s0	\s-1_PC_VDISABLE\s0	2,8
.TE
.RE
.LP
.LP
The following notes apply to the entries in the preceding table.
.LP
.TP
1
If
.I path
or
.I fd
refers to a directory, the value returned applies to the
directory itself.
.TP
2
The behavior is undefined if
.I path
or
.I fd
does not refer to a terminal file.
.TP
3
If
.I path
or
.I fd
refers to a directory, the value returned applies to the
file names within the directory.
.TP
4
The behavior is undefined if
.I path
or 
.I fd
does not refer to a directory.
.TP
5
If
.I path
or
.I fd
refers to a directory, the value returned is the maximum
length of a relative pathname when the specified directory
is the working directory.
.TP
6
If
.I path
refers to a
.SM FIFO\s0,
or
.I fd
refers to a pipe of
.SM FIFO\s-1,
the value returned applies to the referenced object itself.
If
.I path
or
.I fd
refers to a directory, the value returned applies to any
.SM FIFO\s-1s
that exist or can be created within the directory.
If 
.I path
or
.I fd
refer to any other type of file, the behavior is undefined.
.TP
7
If
.I path
or
.I fd
refer to a directory, the value returned applies
to any files, other than directories, that
exist or can be created within the directory.
.TP
8
The option in question is a boolean; the return value is 0 or 1.
.SH RETURN VALUES
.LP
On success,
.B pathconf(\|)
and
.B fpathconf(\|)
return
the current
variable value for the file or directory.
On failure,
they return
\-1
and set
.B errno
to indicate the error.
.LP
If the variable corresponding to
.I name
has no limit for the path or file
descriptor,
.B pathconf(\|)
and 
.B fpathconf(\|)
return \-1 without changing
.BR errno .
.SH ERRORS
.LP
.B pathconf(\|)
and
.B fpathconf(\|)
may set
.B errno
to:
.TP 20
.SM EINVAL
The value of name is invalid.
.LP
For each of the following conditions,
if the condition is detected,
.B pathconf(\|)
fails and sets
.B errno
to:
.TP 20
.SM EACCES
Search permission is denied for a component of the path prefix.
.TP
.SM EINVAL
The implementation does not support an association of the
variable name with the specified file.
.TP
.SM ENAMETOOLONG
The length of the path argument exceeds
.SM {PATH_MAX}\s0.
.IP
A pathname component is longer than
.SM {NAME_MAX}
while
.SM {POSIX_NO_TRUNC}
is in effect.
.TP
.SM ENOENT
The named file does not exist.
.IP
.I path 
points to an empty string.
.TP
.SM ENOTDIR
A component of the path prefix is not a directory.
.LP
For each of the following conditions,
if the condition is detected,
.B fpathconf(\|)
fails and sets
.B errno
to:
.TP 20
.SM EBADF	
The
.I fd
argument is not a valid file descriptor.
.TP
.SM EINVAL
The implementation does not support an association of the
variable name with the specified file.