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MKNOD(2)                    BSD System Calls Manual                   MKNOD(2)

NAME
     mknod -- make a special file node

SYNOPSIS
     #include <sys/stat.h>

     int
     mknod(const char *path, mode_t mode, dev_t dev);

DESCRIPTION
     The device special file path is created with the major and minor device
     numbers extracted from mode.  The access permissions of path are con-strained constrained
     strained by the umask(2) of the parent process.

     If mode indicates a block or character special file, dev is a configura-tion-dependent configuration-dependent
     tion-dependent specification of a character or block I/O device and the
     superblock of the device.  If mode does not indicate a block special or
     character special device, dev is ignored.

     Mknod() requires super-user privileges.

RETURN VALUES
     Upon successful completion, a value of 0 is returned.  Otherwise, a value
     of -1 is returned and errno is set to indicate the error.

ERRORS
     Mknod() will fail and the file will be not created if:

     [EACCES]           Search permission is denied for a component of the
                        path prefix.

     [EACCES]           Write permission is denied for the parent directory.

     [EDQUOT]           The directory in which the entry for the new node is
                        being placed cannot be extended; the user's quota of
                        disk blocks on the file system containing the direc-tory directory
                        tory has been exhausted.

     [EDQUOT]           The user's quota of inodes for the file system on
                        which the node is being created has been exhausted.

     [EEXIST]           The named file exists.

     [EFAULT]           Path points outside the process's allocated address
                        space.

     [EINVAL]           One or more of the arguments is invalid.

     [EIO]              An I/O error occurs while making the directory entry
                        or allocating the inode.

     [ELOOP]            Too many symbolic links were encountered in translat-ing translating
                        ing the pathname.  This is taken to be indicative of a
                        looping symbolic link.

     [ENAMETOOLONG]     A component of a pathname exceeds {NAME_MAX} charac-ters characters
                        ters or an entire path name exceeds {PATH_MAX} charac-ters. characters.
                        ters.

     [ENOENT]           A component of the path prefix does not exist or path
                        is an empty string.

     [ENOSPC]           The directory in which the entry for the new node is
                        being placed cannot be extended, because there is no
                        space left on the file system containing the direc-tory. directory.
                        tory.

     [ENOSPC]           There are no free inodes on the file system on which
                        the node is being created.

     [ENOTDIR]          A component of the path prefix is not a directory.

     [EPERM]            The process's effective user ID is not super-user.

     [EROFS]            The created node would reside on a read-only file sys-tem. system.
                        tem.

LEGACY SYNOPSIS
     #include <unistd.h>

     The include file has changed.

SEE ALSO
     chmod(2), stat(2), umask(2), compat(5)

HISTORY
     A mknod() function call appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.

4th Berkeley Distribution        June 4, 1993        4th Berkeley Distribution