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37120919 1=head1 NAME
2
3POSIX - Perl interface to IEEE Std 1003.1
4
cb1a09d0 5=head1 SYNOPSIS
6
7 use POSIX;
8 use POSIX qw(setsid);
9 use POSIX qw(:errno_h :fcntl_h);
10
11 printf "EINTR is %d\n", EINTR;
12
13 $sess_id = POSIX::setsid();
14
15 $fd = POSIX::open($path, O_CREAT|O_EXCL|O_WRONLY, 0644);
16 # note: that's a filedescriptor, *NOT* a filehandle
17
37120919 18=head1 DESCRIPTION
19
20The POSIX module permits you to access all (or nearly all) the standard
21POSIX 1003.1 identifiers. Many of these identifiers have been given Perl-ish
22interfaces. Things which are C<#defines> in C, like EINTR or O_NDELAY, are
23automatically exported into your namespace. All functions are only exported
24if you ask for them explicitly. Most likely people will prefer to use the
25fully-qualified function names.
26
27This document gives a condensed list of the features available in the POSIX
28module. Consult your operating system's manpages for general information on
29most features. Consult L<perlfunc> for functions which are noted as being
30identical to Perl's builtin functions.
31
32The first section describes POSIX functions from the 1003.1 specification.
33The second section describes some classes for signal objects, TTY objects,
34and other miscellaneous objects. The remaining sections list various
35constants and macros in an organization which roughly follows IEEE Std
361003.1b-1993.
37
37120919 38=head1 NOTE
39
40The POSIX module is probably the most complex Perl module supplied with
41the standard distribution. It incorporates autoloading, namespace games,
42and dynamic loading of code that's in Perl, C, or both. It's a great
43source of wisdom.
44
45=head1 CAVEATS
46
47A few functions are not implemented because they are C specific. If you
48attempt to call these, they will print a message telling you that they
49aren't implemented, and suggest using the Perl equivalent should one
50exist. For example, trying to access the setjmp() call will elicit the
51message "setjmp() is C-specific: use eval {} instead".
52
53Furthermore, some evil vendors will claim 1003.1 compliance, but in fact
54are not so: they will not pass the PCTS (POSIX Compliance Test Suites).
55For example, one vendor may not define EDEADLK, or the semantics of the
56errno values set by open(2) might not be quite right. Perl does not
57attempt to verify POSIX compliance. That means you can currently
58successfully say "use POSIX", and then later in your program you find
59that your vendor has been lax and there's no usable ICANON macro after
60all. This could be construed to be a bug.
61
62=head1 FUNCTIONS
63
64=over 8
65
66=item _exit
67
4755096e 68This is identical to the C function C<_exit()>. It exits the program
69immediately which means among other things buffered I/O is B<not> flushed.
37120919 70
71=item abort
72
4755096e 73This is identical to the C function C<abort()>. It terminates the
74process with a C<SIGABRT> signal unless caught by a signal handler or
75if the handler does not return normally (it e.g. does a C<longjmp>).
37120919 76
77=item abs
78
4755096e 79This is identical to Perl's builtin C<abs()> function, returning
80the absolute value of its numerical argument.
37120919 81
82=item access
83
84Determines the accessibility of a file.
85
86 if( POSIX::access( "/", &POSIX::R_OK ) ){
87 print "have read permission\n";
88 }
89
4755096e 90Returns C<undef> on failure. Note: do not use C<access()> for
91security purposes. Between the C<access()> call and the operation
92you are preparing for the permissions might change: a classic
93I<race condition>.
37120919 94
95=item acos
96
4755096e 97This is identical to the C function C<acos()>, returning
c2e66d9e 98the arcus cosine of its numerical argument. See also L<Math::Trig>.
37120919 99
100=item alarm
101
4755096e 102This is identical to Perl's builtin C<alarm()> function,
103either for arming or disarming the C<SIGARLM> timer.
37120919 104
105=item asctime
106
4755096e 107This is identical to the C function C<asctime()>. It returns
108a string of the form
109
110 "Fri Jun 2 18:22:13 2000\n\0"
111
112and it is called thusly
113
114 $asctime = asctime($sec, $min, $hour, $mday, $mon, $year,
115 $wday, $yday, $isdst);
116
117The C<$mon> is zero-based: January equals C<0>. The C<$year> is
1181900-based: 2001 equals C<101>. The C<$wday>, C<$yday>, and C<$isdst>
119default to zero (and the first two are usually ignored anyway).
37120919 120
121=item asin
122
4755096e 123This is identical to the C function C<asin()>, returning
c2e66d9e 124the arcus sine of its numerical argument. See also L<Math::Trig>.
37120919 125
126=item assert
127
4755096e 128Unimplemented, but you can use L<perlfunc/die> and the L<Carp> module
129to achieve similar things.
37120919 130
131=item atan
132
4755096e 133This is identical to the C function C<atan()>, returning the
c2e66d9e 134arcus tangent of its numerical argument. See also L<Math::Trig>.
37120919 135
136=item atan2
137
4755096e 138This is identical to Perl's builtin C<atan2()> function, returning
139the arcus tangent defined by its two numerical arguments, the I<y>
c2e66d9e 140coordinate and the I<x> coordinate. See also L<Math::Trig>.
37120919 141
142=item atexit
143
4755096e 144atexit() is C-specific: use C<END {}> instead, see L<perlsub>.
37120919 145
146=item atof
147
4755096e 148atof() is C-specific. Perl converts strings to numbers transparently.
149If you need to force a scalar to a number, add a zero to it.
37120919 150
151=item atoi
152
4755096e 153atoi() is C-specific. Perl converts strings to numbers transparently.
154If you need to force a scalar to a number, add a zero to it.
155If you need to have just the integer part, see L<perlfunc/int>.
37120919 156
157=item atol
158
4755096e 159atol() is C-specific. Perl converts strings to numbers transparently.
160If you need to force a scalar to a number, add a zero to it.
161If you need to have just the integer part, see L<perlfunc/int>.
37120919 162
163=item bsearch
164
4755096e 165bsearch() not supplied. For doing binary search on wordlists,
166see L<Search::Dict>.
37120919 167
168=item calloc
169
4755096e 170calloc() is C-specific. Perl does memory management transparently.
37120919 171
172=item ceil
173
4755096e 174This is identical to the C function C<ceil()>, returning the smallest
175integer value greater than or equal to the given numerical argument.
37120919 176
177=item chdir
178
4755096e 179This is identical to Perl's builtin C<chdir()> function, allowing
180one to change the working (default) directory, see L<perlfunc/chdir>.
37120919 181
182=item chmod
183
4755096e 184This is identical to Perl's builtin C<chmod()> function, allowing
185one to change file and directory permissions, see L<perlfunc/chmod>.
37120919 186
187=item chown
188
4755096e 189This is identical to Perl's builtin C<chown()> function, allowing one
190to change file and directory owners and groups, see L<perlfunc/chown>.
37120919 191
192=item clearerr
193
9d6eb86e 194Use the method C<IO::Handle::clearerr()> instead, to reset the error
4755096e 195state (if any) and EOF state (if any) of the given stream.
37120919 196
197=item clock
198
4755096e 199This is identical to the C function C<clock()>, returning the
200amount of spent processor time in microseconds.
37120919 201
202=item close
203
cb1a09d0 204Close the file. This uses file descriptors such as those obtained by calling
205C<POSIX::open>.
206
207 $fd = POSIX::open( "foo", &POSIX::O_RDONLY );
208 POSIX::close( $fd );
37120919 209
210Returns C<undef> on failure.
211
4755096e 212See also L<perlfunc/close>.
213
37120919 214=item closedir
215
4755096e 216This is identical to Perl's builtin C<closedir()> function for closing
217a directory handle, see L<perlfunc/closedir>.
37120919 218
219=item cos
220
4755096e 221This is identical to Perl's builtin C<cos()> function, for returning
222the cosine of its numerical argument, see L<perlfunc/cos>.
c2e66d9e 223See also L<Math::Trig>.
37120919 224
225=item cosh
226
4755096e 227This is identical to the C function C<cosh()>, for returning
c2e66d9e 228the hyperbolic cosine of its numeric argument. See also L<Math::Trig>.
37120919 229
230=item creat
231
cb1a09d0 232Create a new file. This returns a file descriptor like the ones returned by
233C<POSIX::open>. Use C<POSIX::close> to close the file.
234
235 $fd = POSIX::creat( "foo", 0611 );
236 POSIX::close( $fd );
37120919 237
4755096e 238See also L<perlfunc/sysopen> and its C<O_CREAT> flag.
239
37120919 240=item ctermid
241
cb1a09d0 242Generates the path name for the controlling terminal.
37120919 243
244 $path = POSIX::ctermid();
245
246=item ctime
247
4755096e 248This is identical to the C function C<ctime()> and equivalent
249to C<asctime(localtime(...))>, see L</asctime> and L</localtime>.
37120919 250
251=item cuserid
252
4755096e 253Get the login name of the owner of the current process.
37120919 254
255 $name = POSIX::cuserid();
256
257=item difftime
258
4755096e 259This is identical to the C function C<difftime()>, for returning
260the time difference (in seconds) between two times (as returned
261by C<time()>), see L</time>.
37120919 262
263=item div
264
4755096e 265div() is C-specific, use L<perlfunc/int> on the usual C</> division and
266the modulus C<%>.
37120919 267
268=item dup
269
4755096e 270This is similar to the C function C<dup()>, for duplicating a file
271descriptor.
cb1a09d0 272
273This uses file descriptors such as those obtained by calling
274C<POSIX::open>.
37120919 275
276Returns C<undef> on failure.
277
278=item dup2
279
4755096e 280This is similar to the C function C<dup2()>, for duplicating a file
281descriptor to an another known file descriptor.
cb1a09d0 282
283This uses file descriptors such as those obtained by calling
284C<POSIX::open>.
37120919 285
286Returns C<undef> on failure.
287
288=item errno
289
290Returns the value of errno.
291
292 $errno = POSIX::errno();
293
4755096e 294This identical to the numerical values of the C<$!>, see L<perlvar/$ERRNO>.
295
37120919 296=item execl
297
4755096e 298execl() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/exec>.
37120919 299
300=item execle
301
4755096e 302execle() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/exec>.
37120919 303
304=item execlp
305
4755096e 306execlp() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/exec>.
37120919 307
308=item execv
309
4755096e 310execv() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/exec>.
37120919 311
312=item execve
313
4755096e 314execve() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/exec>.
37120919 315
316=item execvp
317
4755096e 318execvp() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/exec>.
37120919 319
320=item exit
321
4755096e 322This is identical to Perl's builtin C<exit()> function for exiting the
323program, see L<perlfunc/exit>.
37120919 324
325=item exp
326
4755096e 327This is identical to Perl's builtin C<exp()> function for
328returning the exponent (I<e>-based) of the numerical argument,
329see L<perlfunc/exp>.
37120919 330
331=item fabs
332
4755096e 333This is identical to Perl's builtin C<abs()> function for returning
334the absolute value of the numerical argument, see L<perlfunc/abs>.
37120919 335
336=item fclose
337
c2e66d9e 338Use method C<IO::Handle::close()> instead, or see L<perlfunc/close>.
37120919 339
340=item fcntl
341
4755096e 342This is identical to Perl's builtin C<fcntl()> function,
343see L<perlfunc/fcntl>.
37120919 344
345=item fdopen
346
c2e66d9e 347Use method C<IO::Handle::new_from_fd()> instead, or see L<perlfunc/open>.
37120919 348
349=item feof
350
c2e66d9e 351Use method C<IO::Handle::eof()> instead, or see L<perlfunc/eof>.
37120919 352
353=item ferror
354
28757baa 355Use method C<IO::Handle::error()> instead.
37120919 356
357=item fflush
358
28757baa 359Use method C<IO::Handle::flush()> instead.
c2e66d9e 360See also L<perlvar/$OUTPUT_AUTOFLUSH>.
37120919 361
362=item fgetc
363
c2e66d9e 364Use method C<IO::Handle::getc()> instead, or see L<perlfunc/read>.
37120919 365
366=item fgetpos
367
c2e66d9e 368Use method C<IO::Seekable::getpos()> instead, or see L<L/seek>.
37120919 369
370=item fgets
371
4755096e 372Use method C<IO::Handle::gets()> instead. Similar to E<lt>E<gt>, also known
373as L<perlfunc/readline>.
37120919 374
375=item fileno
376
c2e66d9e 377Use method C<IO::Handle::fileno()> instead, or see L<perlfunc/fileno>.
37120919 378
379=item floor
380
4755096e 381This is identical to the C function C<floor()>, returning the largest
382integer value less than or equal to the numerical argument.
37120919 383
384=item fmod
385
386This is identical to the C function C<fmod()>.
387
4755096e 388 $r = modf($x, $y);
389
390It returns the remainder C<$r = $x - $n*$y>, where C<$n = trunc($x/$y)>.
391The C<$r> has the same sign as C<$x> and magnitude (absolute value)
392less than the magnitude of C<$y>.
393
37120919 394=item fopen
395
c2e66d9e 396Use method C<IO::File::open()> instead, or see L<perlfunc/open>.
37120919 397
398=item fork
399
c2e66d9e 400This is identical to Perl's builtin C<fork()> function
401for duplicating the current process, see L<perlfunc/fork>
402and L<perlfork> if you are in Windows.
37120919 403
404=item fpathconf
405
cb1a09d0 406Retrieves the value of a configurable limit on a file or directory. This
407uses file descriptors such as those obtained by calling C<POSIX::open>.
408
409The following will determine the maximum length of the longest allowable
410pathname on the filesystem which holds C</tmp/foo>.
411
412 $fd = POSIX::open( "/tmp/foo", &POSIX::O_RDONLY );
413 $path_max = POSIX::fpathconf( $fd, &POSIX::_PC_PATH_MAX );
37120919 414
415Returns C<undef> on failure.
416
417=item fprintf
418
4755096e 419fprintf() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/printf> instead.
37120919 420
421=item fputc
422
4755096e 423fputc() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/print> instead.
37120919 424
425=item fputs
426
4755096e 427fputs() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/print> instead.
37120919 428
429=item fread
430
4755096e 431fread() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/read> instead.
37120919 432
433=item free
434
4755096e 435free() is C-specific. Perl does memory management transparently.
37120919 436
437=item freopen
438
4755096e 439freopen() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/open> instead.
37120919 440
441=item frexp
442
cb1a09d0 443Return the mantissa and exponent of a floating-point number.
444
4755096e 445 ($mantissa, $exponent) = POSIX::frexp( 1.234e56 );
37120919 446
447=item fscanf
448
4755096e 449fscanf() is C-specific, use E<lt>E<gt> and regular expressions instead.
37120919 450
451=item fseek
452
c2e66d9e 453Use method C<IO::Seekable::seek()> instead, or see L<perlfunc/seek>.
37120919 454
455=item fsetpos
456
c2e66d9e 457Use method C<IO::Seekable::setpos()> instead, or seek L<perlfunc/seek>.
37120919 458
459=item fstat
460
cb1a09d0 461Get file status. This uses file descriptors such as those obtained by
462calling C<POSIX::open>. The data returned is identical to the data from
463Perl's builtin C<stat> function.
464
465 $fd = POSIX::open( "foo", &POSIX::O_RDONLY );
466 @stats = POSIX::fstat( $fd );
37120919 467
468=item ftell
469
c2e66d9e 470Use method C<IO::Seekable::tell()> instead, or see L<perlfunc/tell>.
37120919 471
472=item fwrite
473
4755096e 474fwrite() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/print> instead.
37120919 475
476=item getc
477
4755096e 478This is identical to Perl's builtin C<getc()> function,
479see L<perlfunc/getc>.
37120919 480
481=item getchar
482
4755096e 483Returns one character from STDIN. Identical to Perl's C<getc()>,
484see L<perlfunc/getc>.
37120919 485
486=item getcwd
487
488Returns the name of the current working directory.
4755096e 489See also L<Cwd>.
37120919 490
491=item getegid
492
4755096e 493Returns the effective group identifier. Similar to Perl' s builtin
494variable C<$(>, see L<perlvar/$EGID>.
37120919 495
496=item getenv
497
498Returns the value of the specified enironment variable.
4755096e 499The same information is available through the C<%ENV> array.
37120919 500
501=item geteuid
502
4755096e 503Returns the effective user identifier. Identical to Perl's builtin C<$E<gt>>
504variable, see L<perlvar/$EUID>.
37120919 505
506=item getgid
507
4755096e 508Returns the user's real group identifier. Similar to Perl's builtin
509variable C<$)>, see L<perlvar/$GID>.
37120919 510
511=item getgrgid
512
4755096e 513This is identical to Perl's builtin C<getgrgid()> function for
514returning group entries by group identifiers, see
515L<perlfunc/getgrgid>.
37120919 516
517=item getgrnam
518
4755096e 519This is identical to Perl's builtin C<getgrnam()> function for
520returning group entries by group names, see L<perlfunc/getgrnam>.
37120919 521
522=item getgroups
523
4755096e 524Returns the ids of the user's supplementary groups. Similar to Perl's
525builtin variable C<$)>, see L<perlvar/$GID>.
37120919 526
527=item getlogin
528
4755096e 529This is identical to Perl's builtin C<getlogin()> function for
530returning the user name associated with the current session, see
531L<perlfunc/getlogin>.
37120919 532
533=item getpgrp
534
4755096e 535This is identical to Perl's builtin C<getpgrp()> function for
536returning the prcess group identifier of the current process, see
537L<perlfunc/getpgrp>.
37120919 538
539=item getpid
540
4755096e 541Returns the process identifier. Identical to Perl's builtin
542variable C<$$>, see L<perlvar/$PID>.
37120919 543
544=item getppid
545
4755096e 546This is identical to Perl's builtin C<getppid()> function for
547returning the process identifier of the parent process of the current
548process , see L<perlfunc/getppid>.
37120919 549
550=item getpwnam
551
4755096e 552This is identical to Perl's builtin C<getpwnam()> function for
553returning user entries by user names, see L<perlfunc/getpwnam>.
37120919 554
555=item getpwuid
556
4755096e 557This is identical to Perl's builtin C<getpwuid()> function for
558returning user entries by user identifiers, see L<perlfunc/getpwuid>.
37120919 559
560=item gets
561
4755096e 562Returns one line from C<STDIN>, similar to E<lt>E<gt>, also known
563as the C<readline()> function, see L<perlfunc/readline>.
564
565B<NOTE>: if you have C programs that still use C<gets()>, be very
566afraid. The C<gets()> function is a source of endless grief because
567it has no buffer overrun checks. It should B<never> be used. The
568C<fgets()> function should be preferred instead.
37120919 569
570=item getuid
571
4755096e 572Returns the user's identifier. Identical to Perl's builtin C<$E<lt>> variable,
573see L<perlvar/$UID>.
37120919 574
575=item gmtime
576
4755096e 577This is identical to Perl's builtin C<gmtime()> function for
578converting seconds since the epoch to a date in Greenwich Mean Time,
579see L<perlfunc/gmtime>.
37120919 580
581=item isalnum
582
cb1a09d0 583This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single
4755096e 584character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the
b333426c 585C</[[:alnum:]]/> construct instead, or possibly the C</\w/> construct.
37120919 586
587=item isalpha
588
cb1a09d0 589This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single
4755096e 590character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the
b333426c 591C</[[:alpha:]]/> construct instead.
37120919 592
593=item isatty
594
595Returns a boolean indicating whether the specified filehandle is connected
4755096e 596to a tty. Similar to the C<-t> operator, see L<perlfunc/-X>.
37120919 597
598=item iscntrl
599
cb1a09d0 600This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single
4755096e 601character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the
b333426c 602C</[[:cntrl:]]/> construct instead.
37120919 603
604=item isdigit
605
cb1a09d0 606This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single
4755096e 607character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the
b333426c 608C</[[:digit:]]/> construct instead, or the C</\d/> construct.
37120919 609
610=item isgraph
611
cb1a09d0 612This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single
4755096e 613character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the
b333426c 614C</[[:graph:]]/> construct instead.
37120919 615
616=item islower
617
cb1a09d0 618This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single
4755096e 619character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the
e378c047 620C</[[:lower:]]/> construct instead. Do B<not> use C</[a-z]/>.
37120919 621
622=item isprint
623
cb1a09d0 624This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single
4755096e 625character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the
b333426c 626C</[[:print:]]/> construct instead.
37120919 627
628=item ispunct
629
cb1a09d0 630This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single
4755096e 631character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the
b333426c 632C</[[:punct:]]/> construct instead.
37120919 633
634=item isspace
635
cb1a09d0 636This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single
4755096e 637character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the
b333426c 638C</[[:space:]]/> construct instead, or the C</\s/> construct.
e378c047 639(Note that C</\s/> and C</[[:space:]]/> are slightly different in that
640C</[[:space:]]/> can normally match a vertical tab, while C</\s/> does
641not.)
37120919 642
643=item isupper
644
cb1a09d0 645This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single
4755096e 646character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the
e378c047 647C</[[:upper:]]/> construct instead. Do B<not> use C</[A-Z]/>.
37120919 648
649=item isxdigit
650
cb1a09d0 651This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single
4755096e 652character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the
b333426c 653C</[[:xdigit:]]/> construct instead, or simply C</[0-9a-f]/i>.
37120919 654
655=item kill
656
4755096e 657This is identical to Perl's builtin C<kill()> function for sending
c2e66d9e 658signals to processes (often to terminate them), see L<perlfunc/kill>.
37120919 659
660=item labs
661
4755096e 662(For returning absolute values of long integers.)
663labs() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/abs> instead.
37120919 664
665=item ldexp
666
4755096e 667This is identical to the C function C<ldexp()>
668for multiplying floating point numbers with powers of two.
669
670 $x_quadrupled = POSIX::ldexp($x, 2);
37120919 671
672=item ldiv
673
4755096e 674(For computing dividends of long integers.)
675ldiv() is C-specific, use C</> and C<int()> instead.
37120919 676
677=item link
678
4755096e 679This is identical to Perl's builtin C<link()> function
680for creating hard links into files, see L<perlfunc/link>.
37120919 681
682=item localeconv
683
cb1a09d0 684Get numeric formatting information. Returns a reference to a hash
685containing the current locale formatting values.
686
4755096e 687Here is how to query the database for the B<de> (Deutsch or German) locale.
cb1a09d0 688
689 $loc = POSIX::setlocale( &POSIX::LC_ALL, "de" );
690 print "Locale = $loc\n";
691 $lconv = POSIX::localeconv();
692 print "decimal_point = ", $lconv->{decimal_point}, "\n";
693 print "thousands_sep = ", $lconv->{thousands_sep}, "\n";
694 print "grouping = ", $lconv->{grouping}, "\n";
695 print "int_curr_symbol = ", $lconv->{int_curr_symbol}, "\n";
696 print "currency_symbol = ", $lconv->{currency_symbol}, "\n";
697 print "mon_decimal_point = ", $lconv->{mon_decimal_point}, "\n";
698 print "mon_thousands_sep = ", $lconv->{mon_thousands_sep}, "\n";
699 print "mon_grouping = ", $lconv->{mon_grouping}, "\n";
700 print "positive_sign = ", $lconv->{positive_sign}, "\n";
701 print "negative_sign = ", $lconv->{negative_sign}, "\n";
702 print "int_frac_digits = ", $lconv->{int_frac_digits}, "\n";
703 print "frac_digits = ", $lconv->{frac_digits}, "\n";
704 print "p_cs_precedes = ", $lconv->{p_cs_precedes}, "\n";
705 print "p_sep_by_space = ", $lconv->{p_sep_by_space}, "\n";
706 print "n_cs_precedes = ", $lconv->{n_cs_precedes}, "\n";
707 print "n_sep_by_space = ", $lconv->{n_sep_by_space}, "\n";
708 print "p_sign_posn = ", $lconv->{p_sign_posn}, "\n";
709 print "n_sign_posn = ", $lconv->{n_sign_posn}, "\n";
37120919 710
711=item localtime
712
4755096e 713This is identical to Perl's builtin C<localtime()> function for
714converting seconds since the epoch to a date see L<perlfunc/localtime>.
37120919 715
716=item log
717
4755096e 718This is identical to Perl's builtin C<log()> function,
719returning the natural (I<e>-based) logarithm of the numerical argument,
720see L<perlfunc/log>.
37120919 721
722=item log10
723
4755096e 724This is identical to the C function C<log10()>,
725returning the 10-base logarithm of the numerical argument.
726You can also use
727
728 sub log10 { log($_[0]) / log(10) }
729
730or
731
732 sub log10 { log($_[0]) / 2.30258509299405 }
733
734or
735
736 sub log10 { log($_[0]) * 0.434294481903252 }
37120919 737
738=item longjmp
739
4755096e 740longjmp() is C-specific: use L<perlfunc/die> instead.
37120919 741
742=item lseek
743
8903cb82 744Move the file's read/write position. This uses file descriptors such as
cb1a09d0 745those obtained by calling C<POSIX::open>.
746
747 $fd = POSIX::open( "foo", &POSIX::O_RDONLY );
748 $off_t = POSIX::lseek( $fd, 0, &POSIX::SEEK_SET );
37120919 749
750Returns C<undef> on failure.
751
752=item malloc
753
4755096e 754malloc() is C-specific. Perl does memory management transparently.
37120919 755
756=item mblen
757
cb1a09d0 758This is identical to the C function C<mblen()>.
4755096e 759Perl does not have any support for the wide and multibyte
760characters of the C standards, so this might be a rather
761useless function.
37120919 762
763=item mbstowcs
764
cb1a09d0 765This is identical to the C function C<mbstowcs()>.
4755096e 766Perl does not have any support for the wide and multibyte
767characters of the C standards, so this might be a rather
768useless function.
37120919 769
770=item mbtowc
771
cb1a09d0 772This is identical to the C function C<mbtowc()>.
4755096e 773Perl does not have any support for the wide and multibyte
774characters of the C standards, so this might be a rather
775useless function.
37120919 776
777=item memchr
778
4755096e 779memchr() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/index> instead.
37120919 780
781=item memcmp
782
4755096e 783memcmp() is C-specific, use C<eq> instead, see L<perlop>.
37120919 784
785=item memcpy
786
4755096e 787memcpy() is C-specific, use C<=>, see L<perlop>, or see L<perlfunc/substr>.
37120919 788
789=item memmove
790
4755096e 791memmove() is C-specific, use C<=>, see L<perlop>, or see L<perlfunc/substr>.
37120919 792
793=item memset
794
4755096e 795memset() is C-specific, use C<x> instead, see L<perlop>.
37120919 796
797=item mkdir
798
4755096e 799This is identical to Perl's builtin C<mkdir()> function
800for creating directories, see L<perlfunc/mkdir>.
37120919 801
802=item mkfifo
803
4755096e 804This is similar to the C function C<mkfifo()> for creating
805FIFO special files.
37120919 806
4755096e 807 if (mkfifo($path, $mode)) { ....
808
809Returns C<undef> on failure. The C<$mode> is similar to the
810mode of C<mkdir()>, see L<perlfunc/mkdir>.
37120919 811
812=item mktime
813
cb1a09d0 814Convert date/time info to a calendar time.
815
816Synopsis:
817
818 mktime(sec, min, hour, mday, mon, year, wday = 0, yday = 0, isdst = 0)
819
820The month (C<mon>), weekday (C<wday>), and yearday (C<yday>) begin at zero.
821I.e. January is 0, not 1; Sunday is 0, not 1; January 1st is 0, not 1. The
822year (C<year>) is given in years since 1900. I.e. The year 1995 is 95; the
823year 2001 is 101. Consult your system's C<mktime()> manpage for details
824about these and the other arguments.
825
826Calendar time for December 12, 1995, at 10:30 am.
827
828 $time_t = POSIX::mktime( 0, 30, 10, 12, 11, 95 );
829 print "Date = ", POSIX::ctime($time_t);
37120919 830
831Returns C<undef> on failure.
832
833=item modf
834
cb1a09d0 835Return the integral and fractional parts of a floating-point number.
836
837 ($fractional, $integral) = POSIX::modf( 3.14 );
37120919 838
839=item nice
840
4755096e 841This is similar to the C function C<nice()>, for changing
842the scheduling preference of the current process. Positive
843arguments mean more polite process, negative values more
844needy process. Normal user processes can only be more polite.
37120919 845
846Returns C<undef> on failure.
847
848=item offsetof
849
4755096e 850offsetof() is C-specific, you probably want to see L<perlfunc/pack> instead.
37120919 851
852=item open
853
cb1a09d0 854Open a file for reading for writing. This returns file descriptors, not
855Perl filehandles. Use C<POSIX::close> to close the file.
856
857Open a file read-only with mode 0666.
858
859 $fd = POSIX::open( "foo" );
860
861Open a file for read and write.
862
863 $fd = POSIX::open( "foo", &POSIX::O_RDWR );
864
865Open a file for write, with truncation.
866
867 $fd = POSIX::open( "foo", &POSIX::O_WRONLY | &POSIX::O_TRUNC );
868
869Create a new file with mode 0640. Set up the file for writing.
870
871 $fd = POSIX::open( "foo", &POSIX::O_CREAT | &POSIX::O_WRONLY, 0640 );
37120919 872
873Returns C<undef> on failure.
874
4755096e 875See also L<perlfunc/sysopen>.
876
37120919 877=item opendir
878
cb1a09d0 879Open a directory for reading.
880
881 $dir = POSIX::opendir( "/tmp" );
882 @files = POSIX::readdir( $dir );
883 POSIX::closedir( $dir );
884
885Returns C<undef> on failure.
37120919 886
887=item pathconf
888
889Retrieves the value of a configurable limit on a file or directory.
890
891The following will determine the maximum length of the longest allowable
892pathname on the filesystem which holds C</tmp>.
893
894 $path_max = POSIX::pathconf( "/tmp", &POSIX::_PC_PATH_MAX );
895
896Returns C<undef> on failure.
897
898=item pause
899
4755096e 900This is similar to the C function C<pause()>, which suspends
901the execution of the current process until a signal is received.
37120919 902
903Returns C<undef> on failure.
904
905=item perror
906
4755096e 907This is identical to the C function C<perror()>, which outputs to the
908standard error stream the specified message followed by ": " and the
909current error string. Use the C<warn()> function and the C<$!>
910variable instead, see L<perlfunc/warn> and L<perlvar/$ERRNO>.
37120919 911
912=item pipe
913
cb1a09d0 914Create an interprocess channel. This returns file descriptors like those
915returned by C<POSIX::open>.
916
917 ($fd0, $fd1) = POSIX::pipe();
918 POSIX::write( $fd0, "hello", 5 );
919 POSIX::read( $fd1, $buf, 5 );
37120919 920
4755096e 921See also L<perlfunc/pipe>.
922
37120919 923=item pow
924
4755096e 925Computes C<$x> raised to the power C<$exponent>.
37120919 926
927 $ret = POSIX::pow( $x, $exponent );
928
4755096e 929You can also use the C<**> operator, see L<perlop>.
930
37120919 931=item printf
932
4755096e 933Formats and prints the specified arguments to STDOUT.
934See also L<perlfunc/printf>.
37120919 935
936=item putc
937
4755096e 938putc() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/print> instead.
37120919 939
940=item putchar
941
4755096e 942putchar() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/print> instead.
37120919 943
944=item puts
945
4755096e 946puts() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/print> instead.
37120919 947
948=item qsort
949
4755096e 950qsort() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/sort> instead.
37120919 951
952=item raise
953
954Sends the specified signal to the current process.
4755096e 955See also L<perlfunc/kill> and the C<$$> in L<perlvar/$PID>.
37120919 956
957=item rand
958
4755096e 959C<rand()> is non-portable, see L<perlfunc/rand> instead.
37120919 960
961=item read
962
cb1a09d0 963Read from a file. This uses file descriptors such as those obtained by
964calling C<POSIX::open>. If the buffer C<$buf> is not large enough for the
965read then Perl will extend it to make room for the request.
966
967 $fd = POSIX::open( "foo", &POSIX::O_RDONLY );
968 $bytes = POSIX::read( $fd, $buf, 3 );
37120919 969
970Returns C<undef> on failure.
971
4755096e 972See also L<perlfunc/sysread>.
973
37120919 974=item readdir
975
4755096e 976This is identical to Perl's builtin C<readdir()> function
977for reading directory entries, see L<perlfunc/readdir>.
37120919 978
979=item realloc
980
4755096e 981realloc() is C-specific. Perl does memory management transparently.
37120919 982
983=item remove
984
4755096e 985This is identical to Perl's builtin C<unlink()> function
986for removing files, see L<perlfunc/unlink>.
37120919 987
988=item rename
989
4755096e 990This is identical to Perl's builtin C<rename()> function
991for renaming files, see L<perlfunc/rename>.
37120919 992
993=item rewind
994
995Seeks to the beginning of the file.
996
997=item rewinddir
998
4755096e 999This is identical to Perl's builtin C<rewinddir()> function for
1000rewinding directory entry streams, see L<perlfunc/rewinddir>.
37120919 1001
1002=item rmdir
1003
4755096e 1004This is identical to Perl's builtin C<rmdir()> function
1005for removing (empty) directories, see L<perlfunc/rmdir>.
37120919 1006
1007=item scanf
1008
4755096e 1009scanf() is C-specific, use E<lt>E<gt> and regular expressions instead,
1010see L<perlre>.
37120919 1011
1012=item setgid
1013
a043a685 1014Sets the real group identifier and the effective group identifier for
1015this process. Similar to assigning a value to the Perl's builtin
1016C<$)> variable, see L<perlvar/$GID>, except that the latter
1017will change only the real user identifier, and that the setgid()
1018uses only a single numeric argument, as opposed to a space-separated
1019list of numbers.
37120919 1020
1021=item setjmp
1022
4755096e 1023C<setjmp()> is C-specific: use C<eval {}> instead,
1024see L<perlfunc/eval>.
37120919 1025
1026=item setlocale
1027
c26abfa6 1028Modifies and queries program's locale. The following examples assume
1029
1030 use POSIX qw(setlocale LC_ALL LC_CTYPE);
1031
1032has been issued.
37120919 1033
8966fa01 1034The following will set the traditional UNIX system locale behavior
1035(the second argument C<"C">).
37120919 1036
c26abfa6 1037 $loc = setlocale( LC_ALL, "C" );
37120919 1038
c26abfa6 1039The following will query the current LC_CTYPE category. (No second
1040argument means 'query'.)
8966fa01 1041
c26abfa6 1042 $loc = setlocale( LC_CTYPE );
8966fa01 1043
1044The following will set the LC_CTYPE behaviour according to the locale
1045environment variables (the second argument C<"">).
9d6eb86e 1046Please see your systems C<setlocale(3)> documentation for the locale
71be2cbc 1047environment variables' meaning or consult L<perllocale>.
8966fa01 1048
c26abfa6 1049 $loc = setlocale( LC_CTYPE, "" );
8966fa01 1050
1051The following will set the LC_COLLATE behaviour to Argentinian
1052Spanish. B<NOTE>: The naming and availability of locales depends on
71be2cbc 1053your operating system. Please consult L<perllocale> for how to find
8966fa01 1054out which locales are available in your system.
1055
c26abfa6 1056 $loc = setlocale( LC_ALL, "es_AR.ISO8859-1" );
8966fa01 1057
37120919 1058=item setpgid
1059
4755096e 1060This is similar to the C function C<setpgid()> for
1061setting the process group identifier of the current process.
37120919 1062
1063Returns C<undef> on failure.
1064
1065=item setsid
1066
4755096e 1067This is identical to the C function C<setsid()> for
1068setting the session identifier of the current process.
37120919 1069
1070=item setuid
1071
a043a685 1072Sets the real user identifier and the effective user identifier for
1073this process. Similar to assigning a value to the Perl's builtin
1074C<$E<lt>> variable, see L<perlvar/$UID>, except that the latter
1075will change only the real user identifier.
37120919 1076
1077=item sigaction
1078
cb1a09d0 1079Detailed signal management. This uses C<POSIX::SigAction> objects for the
1080C<action> and C<oldaction> arguments. Consult your system's C<sigaction>
1081manpage for details.
1082
1083Synopsis:
1084
1085 sigaction(sig, action, oldaction = 0)
37120919 1086
1087Returns C<undef> on failure.
1088
1089=item siglongjmp
1090
4755096e 1091siglongjmp() is C-specific: use L<perlfunc/die> instead.
37120919 1092
1093=item sigpending
1094
cb1a09d0 1095Examine signals that are blocked and pending. This uses C<POSIX::SigSet>
1096objects for the C<sigset> argument. Consult your system's C<sigpending>
1097manpage for details.
1098
1099Synopsis:
1100
1101 sigpending(sigset)
37120919 1102
1103Returns C<undef> on failure.
1104
1105=item sigprocmask
1106
cb1a09d0 1107Change and/or examine calling process's signal mask. This uses
1108C<POSIX::SigSet> objects for the C<sigset> and C<oldsigset> arguments.
1109Consult your system's C<sigprocmask> manpage for details.
1110
1111Synopsis:
1112
1113 sigprocmask(how, sigset, oldsigset = 0)
37120919 1114
1115Returns C<undef> on failure.
1116
1117=item sigsetjmp
1118
4755096e 1119C<sigsetjmp()> is C-specific: use C<eval {}> instead,
1120see L<perlfunc/eval>.
37120919 1121
1122=item sigsuspend
1123
cb1a09d0 1124Install a signal mask and suspend process until signal arrives. This uses
1125C<POSIX::SigSet> objects for the C<signal_mask> argument. Consult your
1126system's C<sigsuspend> manpage for details.
1127
1128Synopsis:
1129
1130 sigsuspend(signal_mask)
37120919 1131
1132Returns C<undef> on failure.
1133
1134=item sin
1135
4755096e 1136This is identical to Perl's builtin C<sin()> function
1137for returning the sine of the numerical argument,
c2e66d9e 1138see L<perlfunc/sin>. See also L<Math::Trig>.
37120919 1139
1140=item sinh
1141
4755096e 1142This is identical to the C function C<sinh()>
1143for returning the hyperbolic sine of the numerical argument.
c2e66d9e 1144See also L<Math::Trig>.
37120919 1145
1146=item sleep
1147
2ab27a20 1148This is functionally identical to Perl's builtin C<sleep()> function
1149for suspending the execution of the current for process for certain
1150number of seconds, see L<perlfunc/sleep>. There is one signifanct
2bad225e 1151difference, however: C<POSIX::sleep()> returns the number of
2ab27a20 1152B<unslept> seconds, while the C<CORE::sleep()> returns the
1153number of slept seconds.
37120919 1154
1155=item sprintf
1156
4755096e 1157This is similar to Perl's builtin C<sprintf()> function
1158for returning a string that has the arguments formatted as requested,
1159see L<perlfunc/sprintf>.
37120919 1160
1161=item sqrt
1162
1163This is identical to Perl's builtin C<sqrt()> function.
4755096e 1164for returning the square root of the numerical argument,
1165see L<perlfunc/sqrt>.
37120919 1166
1167=item srand
1168
4755096e 1169Give a seed the pseudorandom number generator, see L<perlfunc/srand>.
37120919 1170
1171=item sscanf
1172
4755096e 1173sscanf() is C-specific, use regular expressions instead,
1174see L<perlre>.
37120919 1175
1176=item stat
1177
4755096e 1178This is identical to Perl's builtin C<stat()> function
1179for retutning information about files and directories.
37120919 1180
1181=item strcat
1182
4755096e 1183strcat() is C-specific, use C<.=> instead, see L<perlop>.
37120919 1184
1185=item strchr
1186
4755096e 1187strchr() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/index> instead.
37120919 1188
1189=item strcmp
1190
4755096e 1191strcmp() is C-specific, use C<eq> or C<cmp> instead, see L<perlop>.
37120919 1192
1193=item strcoll
1194
4755096e 1195This is identical to the C function C<strcoll()>
1196for collating (comparing) strings transformed using
1197the C<strxfrm()> function. Not really needed since
1198Perl can do this transparently, see L<perllocale>.
37120919 1199
1200=item strcpy
1201
4755096e 1202strcpy() is C-specific, use C<=> instead, see L<perlop>.
37120919 1203
1204=item strcspn
1205
4755096e 1206strcspn() is C-specific, use regular expressions instead,
1207see L<perlre>.
37120919 1208
1209=item strerror
1210
1211Returns the error string for the specified errno.
4755096e 1212Identical to the string form of the C<$!>, see L<perlvar/$ERRNO>.
37120919 1213
1214=item strftime
1215
cb1a09d0 1216Convert date and time information to string. Returns the string.
1217
1218Synopsis:
1219
e44f695e 1220 strftime(fmt, sec, min, hour, mday, mon, year, wday = -1, yday = -1, isdst = -1)
cb1a09d0 1221
1222The month (C<mon>), weekday (C<wday>), and yearday (C<yday>) begin at zero.
1223I.e. January is 0, not 1; Sunday is 0, not 1; January 1st is 0, not 1. The
e44f695e 1224year (C<year>) is given in years since 1900. I.e., the year 1995 is 95; the
cb1a09d0 1225year 2001 is 101. Consult your system's C<strftime()> manpage for details
659b4938 1226about these and the other arguments.
1227If you want your code to be portable, your format (C<fmt>) argument
1228should use only the conversion specifiers defined by the ANSI C
1229standard. These are C<aAbBcdHIjmMpSUwWxXyYZ%>.
33c0e3ec 1230The given arguments are made consistent
1231as though by calling C<mktime()> before calling your system's
1232C<strftime()> function, except that the C<isdst> value is not affected.
cb1a09d0 1233
1234The string for Tuesday, December 12, 1995.
1235
1236 $str = POSIX::strftime( "%A, %B %d, %Y", 0, 0, 0, 12, 11, 95, 2 );
1237 print "$str\n";
37120919 1238
1239=item strlen
1240
4755096e 1241strlen() is C-specific, use C<length()> instead, see L<perlfunc/length>.
37120919 1242
1243=item strncat
1244
4755096e 1245strncat() is C-specific, use C<.=> instead, see L<perlop>.
37120919 1246
1247=item strncmp
1248
4755096e 1249strncmp() is C-specific, use C<eq> instead, see L<perlop>.
37120919 1250
1251=item strncpy
1252
4755096e 1253strncpy() is C-specific, use C<=> instead, see L<perlop>.
37120919 1254
1255=item strpbrk
1256
4755096e 1257strpbrk() is C-specific, use regular expressions instead,
1258see L<perlre>.
37120919 1259
1260=item strrchr
1261
4755096e 1262strrchr() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/rindex> instead.
37120919 1263
1264=item strspn
1265
4755096e 1266strspn() is C-specific, use regular expressions instead,
1267see L<perlre>.
37120919 1268
1269=item strstr
1270
4755096e 1271This is identical to Perl's builtin C<index()> function,
1272see L<perlfunc/index>.
37120919 1273
1274=item strtod
1275
a89d8a78 1276String to double translation. Returns the parsed number and the number
1277of characters in the unparsed portion of the string. Truly
1278POSIX-compliant systems set $! ($ERRNO) to indicate a translation
1279error, so clear $! before calling strtod. However, non-POSIX systems
1280may not check for overflow, and therefore will never set $!.
1281
1282strtod should respect any POSIX I<setlocale()> settings.
1283
1284To parse a string $str as a floating point number use
1285
1286 $! = 0;
1287 ($num, $n_unparsed) = POSIX::strtod($str);
1288
1289The second returned item and $! can be used to check for valid input:
1290
1291 if (($str eq '') || ($n_unparsed != 0) || !$!) {
1292 die "Non-numeric input $str" . $! ? ": $!\n" : "\n";
1293 }
1294
1295When called in a scalar context strtod returns the parsed number.
37120919 1296
1297=item strtok
1298
4755096e 1299strtok() is C-specific, use regular expressions instead, see
1300L<perlre>, or L<perlfunc/split>.
37120919 1301
1302=item strtol
1303
a89d8a78 1304String to (long) integer translation. Returns the parsed number and
1305the number of characters in the unparsed portion of the string. Truly
1306POSIX-compliant systems set $! ($ERRNO) to indicate a translation
1307error, so clear $! before calling strtol. However, non-POSIX systems
1308may not check for overflow, and therefore will never set $!.
1309
1310strtol should respect any POSIX I<setlocale()> settings.
1311
1312To parse a string $str as a number in some base $base use
1313
1314 $! = 0;
1315 ($num, $n_unparsed) = POSIX::strtol($str, $base);
1316
1317The base should be zero or between 2 and 36, inclusive. When the base
1318is zero or omitted strtol will use the string itself to determine the
1319base: a leading "0x" or "0X" means hexadecimal; a leading "0" means
1320octal; any other leading characters mean decimal. Thus, "1234" is
1321parsed as a decimal number, "01234" as an octal number, and "0x1234"
1322as a hexadecimal number.
1323
1324The second returned item and $! can be used to check for valid input:
1325
1326 if (($str eq '') || ($n_unparsed != 0) || !$!) {
1327 die "Non-numeric input $str" . $! ? ": $!\n" : "\n";
1328 }
1329
1330When called in a scalar context strtol returns the parsed number.
1331
1332=item strtoul
1333
4755096e 1334String to unsigned (long) integer translation. strtoul() is identical
1335to strtol() except that strtoul() only parses unsigned integers. See
1336L</strtol> for details.
a89d8a78 1337
4755096e 1338Note: Some vendors supply strtod() and strtol() but not strtoul().
1339Other vendors that do supply strtoul() parse "-1" as a valid value.
37120919 1340
1341=item strxfrm
1342
cb1a09d0 1343String transformation. Returns the transformed string.
1344
1345 $dst = POSIX::strxfrm( $src );
37120919 1346
4755096e 1347Used in conjunction with the C<strcoll()> function, see L</strcoll>.
1348
1349Not really needed since Perl can do this transparently, see
1350L<perllocale>.
1351
37120919 1352=item sysconf
1353
1354Retrieves values of system configurable variables.
1355
1356The following will get the machine's clock speed.
1357
1358 $clock_ticks = POSIX::sysconf( &POSIX::_SC_CLK_TCK );
1359
1360Returns C<undef> on failure.
1361
1362=item system
1363
4755096e 1364This is identical to Perl's builtin C<system()> function, see
1365L<perlfunc/system>.
37120919 1366
1367=item tan
1368
4755096e 1369This is identical to the C function C<tan()>, returning the
c2e66d9e 1370tangent of the numerical argument. See also L<Math::Trig>.
37120919 1371
1372=item tanh
1373
4755096e 1374This is identical to the C function C<tanh()>, returning the
c2e66d9e 1375hyperbolic tangent of the numerical argument. See also L<Math::Trig>.
37120919 1376
1377=item tcdrain
1378
4755096e 1379This is similar to the C function C<tcdrain()> for draining
1380the output queue of its argument stream.
37120919 1381
1382Returns C<undef> on failure.
1383
1384=item tcflow
1385
4755096e 1386This is similar to the C function C<tcflow()> for controlling
1387the flow of its argument stream.
37120919 1388
1389Returns C<undef> on failure.
1390
1391=item tcflush
1392
4755096e 1393This is similar to the C function C<tcflush()> for flushing
1394the I/O buffers of its argumeny stream.
37120919 1395
1396Returns C<undef> on failure.
1397
1398=item tcgetpgrp
1399
4755096e 1400This is identical to the C function C<tcgetpgrp()> for returning the
1401process group identifier of the foreground process group of the controlling
1402terminal.
37120919 1403
1404=item tcsendbreak
1405
4755096e 1406This is similar to the C function C<tcsendbreak()> for sending
1407a break on its argument stream.
37120919 1408
1409Returns C<undef> on failure.
1410
1411=item tcsetpgrp
1412
4755096e 1413This is similar to the C function C<tcsetpgrp()> for setting the
1414process group identifier of the foreground process group of the controlling
1415terminal.
37120919 1416
1417Returns C<undef> on failure.
1418
1419=item time
1420
4755096e 1421This is identical to Perl's builtin C<time()> function
1422for returning the number of seconds since the epoch
1423(whatever it is for the system), see L<perlfunc/time>.
37120919 1424
1425=item times
1426
1427The times() function returns elapsed realtime since some point in the past
1428(such as system startup), user and system times for this process, and user
1429and system times used by child processes. All times are returned in clock
1430ticks.
1431
1432 ($realtime, $user, $system, $cuser, $csystem) = POSIX::times();
1433
1434Note: Perl's builtin C<times()> function returns four values, measured in
1435seconds.
1436
1437=item tmpfile
1438
4755096e 1439Use method C<IO::File::new_tmpfile()> instead, or see L<File::Temp>.
37120919 1440
1441=item tmpnam
1442
1443Returns a name for a temporary file.
1444
1445 $tmpfile = POSIX::tmpnam();
1446
60cba15a 1447For security reasons, which are probably detailed in your system's
1448documentation for the C library tmpnam() function, this interface
1449should not be used; instead see L<File::Temp>.
4755096e 1450
37120919 1451=item tolower
1452
4755096e 1453This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single
1454character or to a whole string. Consider using the C<lc()> function,
1455see L<perlfunc/lc>, or the equivalent C<\L> operator inside doublequotish
1456strings.
37120919 1457
1458=item toupper
1459
4755096e 1460This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single
1461character or to a whole string. Consider using the C<uc()> function,
1462see L<perlfunc/uc>, or the equivalent C<\U> operator inside doublequotish
1463strings.
37120919 1464
1465=item ttyname
1466
4755096e 1467This is identical to the C function C<ttyname()> for returning the
1468name of the current terminal.
37120919 1469
1470=item tzname
1471
cb1a09d0 1472Retrieves the time conversion information from the C<tzname> variable.
1473
1474 POSIX::tzset();
1475 ($std, $dst) = POSIX::tzname();
37120919 1476
1477=item tzset
1478
4755096e 1479This is identical to the C function C<tzset()> for setting
1480the current timezone based on the environment variable C<TZ>,
1481to be used by C<ctime()>, C<localtime()>, C<mktime()>, and C<strftime()>
1482functions.
37120919 1483
1484=item umask
1485
4755096e 1486This is identical to Perl's builtin C<umask()> function
1487for setting (and querying) the file creation permission mask,
1488see L<perlfunc/umask>.
37120919 1489
1490=item uname
1491
cb1a09d0 1492Get name of current operating system.
1493
4755096e 1494 ($sysname, $nodename, $release, $version, $machine) = POSIX::uname();
1495
1496Note that the actual meanings of the various fields are not
1497that well standardized, do not expect any great portability.
1498The C<$sysname> might be the name of the operating system,
1499the C<$nodename> might be the name of the host, the C<$release>
1500might be the (major) release number of the operating system,
1501the C<$version> might be the (minor) release number of the
1502operating system, and the C<$machine> might be a hardware identifier.
1503Maybe.
37120919 1504
1505=item ungetc
1506
28757baa 1507Use method C<IO::Handle::ungetc()> instead.
37120919 1508
1509=item unlink
1510
4755096e 1511This is identical to Perl's builtin C<unlink()> function
1512for removing files, see L<perlfunc/unlink>.
37120919 1513
1514=item utime
1515
4755096e 1516This is identical to Perl's builtin C<utime()> function
1517for changing the time stamps of files and directories,
1518see L<perlfunc/utime>.
37120919 1519
1520=item vfprintf
1521
4755096e 1522vfprintf() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/printf> instead.
37120919 1523
1524=item vprintf
1525
4755096e 1526vprintf() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/printf> instead.
37120919 1527
1528=item vsprintf
1529
4755096e 1530vsprintf() is C-specific, see L<perlfunc/sprintf> instead.
37120919 1531
1532=item wait
1533
4755096e 1534This is identical to Perl's builtin C<wait()> function,
1535see L<perlfunc/wait>.
37120919 1536
1537=item waitpid
1538
cb1a09d0 1539Wait for a child process to change state. This is identical to Perl's
4755096e 1540builtin C<waitpid()> function, see L<perlfunc/waitpid>.
cb1a09d0 1541
2ac1ef3d 1542 $pid = POSIX::waitpid( -1, POSIX::WNOHANG );
cb1a09d0 1543 print "status = ", ($? / 256), "\n";
37120919 1544
1545=item wcstombs
1546
cb1a09d0 1547This is identical to the C function C<wcstombs()>.
4755096e 1548Perl does not have any support for the wide and multibyte
1549characters of the C standards, so this might be a rather
1550useless function.
37120919 1551
1552=item wctomb
1553
cb1a09d0 1554This is identical to the C function C<wctomb()>.
4755096e 1555Perl does not have any support for the wide and multibyte
1556characters of the C standards, so this might be a rather
1557useless function.
37120919 1558
1559=item write
1560
cb1a09d0 1561Write to a file. This uses file descriptors such as those obtained by
1562calling C<POSIX::open>.
1563
1564 $fd = POSIX::open( "foo", &POSIX::O_WRONLY );
1565 $buf = "hello";
1566 $bytes = POSIX::write( $b, $buf, 5 );
37120919 1567
1568Returns C<undef> on failure.
1569
4755096e 1570See also L<perlfunc/syswrite>.
1571
37120919 1572=back
1573
1574=head1 CLASSES
1575
37120919 1576=head2 POSIX::SigAction
1577
1578=over 8
1579
1580=item new
1581
cb1a09d0 1582Creates a new C<POSIX::SigAction> object which corresponds to the C
1583C<struct sigaction>. This object will be destroyed automatically when it is
1584no longer needed. The first parameter is the fully-qualified name of a sub
1585which is a signal-handler. The second parameter is a C<POSIX::SigSet>
28757baa 1586object, it defaults to the empty set. The third parameter contains the
1587C<sa_flags>, it defaults to 0.
cb1a09d0 1588
28757baa 1589 $sigset = POSIX::SigSet->new(SIGINT, SIGQUIT);
cb1a09d0 1590 $sigaction = POSIX::SigAction->new( 'main::handler', $sigset, &POSIX::SA_NOCLDSTOP );
1591
1592This C<POSIX::SigAction> object should be used with the C<POSIX::sigaction()>
1593function.
37120919 1594
1595=back
1596
1597=head2 POSIX::SigSet
1598
1599=over 8
1600
1601=item new
1602
1603Create a new SigSet object. This object will be destroyed automatically
1604when it is no longer needed. Arguments may be supplied to initialize the
1605set.
1606
1607Create an empty set.
1608
1609 $sigset = POSIX::SigSet->new;
1610
1611Create a set with SIGUSR1.
1612
1613 $sigset = POSIX::SigSet->new( &POSIX::SIGUSR1 );
1614
1615=item addset
1616
1617Add a signal to a SigSet object.
1618
1619 $sigset->addset( &POSIX::SIGUSR2 );
1620
1621Returns C<undef> on failure.
1622
1623=item delset
1624
1625Remove a signal from the SigSet object.
1626
1627 $sigset->delset( &POSIX::SIGUSR2 );
1628
1629Returns C<undef> on failure.
1630
1631=item emptyset
1632
1633Initialize the SigSet object to be empty.
1634
1635 $sigset->emptyset();
1636
1637Returns C<undef> on failure.
1638
1639=item fillset
1640
1641Initialize the SigSet object to include all signals.
1642
1643 $sigset->fillset();
1644
1645Returns C<undef> on failure.
1646
1647=item ismember
1648
1649Tests the SigSet object to see if it contains a specific signal.
1650
1651 if( $sigset->ismember( &POSIX::SIGUSR1 ) ){
1652 print "contains SIGUSR1\n";
1653 }
1654
1655=back
1656
1657=head2 POSIX::Termios
1658
1659=over 8
1660
1661=item new
1662
1663Create a new Termios object. This object will be destroyed automatically
55d729e4 1664when it is no longer needed. A Termios object corresponds to the termios
1665C struct. new() mallocs a new one, getattr() fills it from a file descriptor,
1666and setattr() sets a file descriptor's parameters to match Termios' contents.
37120919 1667
1668 $termios = POSIX::Termios->new;
1669
1670=item getattr
1671
cb1a09d0 1672Get terminal control attributes.
1673
1674Obtain the attributes for stdin.
1675
1676 $termios->getattr()
1677
1678Obtain the attributes for stdout.
1679
1680 $termios->getattr( 1 )
37120919 1681
1682Returns C<undef> on failure.
1683
1684=item getcc
1685
1686Retrieve a value from the c_cc field of a termios object. The c_cc field is
1687an array so an index must be specified.
1688
1689 $c_cc[1] = $termios->getcc(1);
1690
1691=item getcflag
1692
1693Retrieve the c_cflag field of a termios object.
1694
1695 $c_cflag = $termios->getcflag;
1696
1697=item getiflag
1698
1699Retrieve the c_iflag field of a termios object.
1700
1701 $c_iflag = $termios->getiflag;
1702
1703=item getispeed
1704
1705Retrieve the input baud rate.
1706
1707 $ispeed = $termios->getispeed;
1708
1709=item getlflag
1710
1711Retrieve the c_lflag field of a termios object.
1712
1713 $c_lflag = $termios->getlflag;
1714
1715=item getoflag
1716
1717Retrieve the c_oflag field of a termios object.
1718
1719 $c_oflag = $termios->getoflag;
1720
1721=item getospeed
1722
1723Retrieve the output baud rate.
1724
1725 $ospeed = $termios->getospeed;
1726
1727=item setattr
1728
cb1a09d0 1729Set terminal control attributes.
1730
1731Set attributes immediately for stdout.
1732
1733 $termios->setattr( 1, &POSIX::TCSANOW );
37120919 1734
1735Returns C<undef> on failure.
1736
1737=item setcc
1738
1739Set a value in the c_cc field of a termios object. The c_cc field is an
1740array so an index must be specified.
1741
6b7a6f50 1742 $termios->setcc( &POSIX::VEOF, 1 );
37120919 1743
1744=item setcflag
1745
1746Set the c_cflag field of a termios object.
1747
55d729e4 1748 $termios->setcflag( $c_cflag | &POSIX::CLOCAL );
37120919 1749
1750=item setiflag
1751
1752Set the c_iflag field of a termios object.
1753
55d729e4 1754 $termios->setiflag( $c_iflag | &POSIX::BRKINT );
37120919 1755
1756=item setispeed
1757
1758Set the input baud rate.
1759
1760 $termios->setispeed( &POSIX::B9600 );
1761
1762Returns C<undef> on failure.
1763
1764=item setlflag
1765
1766Set the c_lflag field of a termios object.
1767
55d729e4 1768 $termios->setlflag( $c_lflag | &POSIX::ECHO );
37120919 1769
1770=item setoflag
1771
1772Set the c_oflag field of a termios object.
1773
55d729e4 1774 $termios->setoflag( $c_oflag | &POSIX::OPOST );
37120919 1775
1776=item setospeed
1777
1778Set the output baud rate.
1779
1780 $termios->setospeed( &POSIX::B9600 );
1781
1782Returns C<undef> on failure.
1783
1784=item Baud rate values
1785
1786B38400 B75 B200 B134 B300 B1800 B150 B0 B19200 B1200 B9600 B600 B4800 B50 B2400 B110
1787
1788=item Terminal interface values
1789
1790TCSADRAIN TCSANOW TCOON TCIOFLUSH TCOFLUSH TCION TCIFLUSH TCSAFLUSH TCIOFF TCOOFF
1791
1792=item c_cc field values
1793
1794VEOF VEOL VERASE VINTR VKILL VQUIT VSUSP VSTART VSTOP VMIN VTIME NCCS
1795
1796=item c_cflag field values
1797
1798CLOCAL CREAD CSIZE CS5 CS6 CS7 CS8 CSTOPB HUPCL PARENB PARODD
1799
1800=item c_iflag field values
1801
1802BRKINT ICRNL IGNBRK IGNCR IGNPAR INLCR INPCK ISTRIP IXOFF IXON PARMRK
1803
1804=item c_lflag field values
1805
1806ECHO ECHOE ECHOK ECHONL ICANON IEXTEN ISIG NOFLSH TOSTOP
1807
1808=item c_oflag field values
1809
1810OPOST
1811
1812=back
1813
1814=head1 PATHNAME CONSTANTS
1815
1816=over 8
1817
1818=item Constants
1819
1820_PC_CHOWN_RESTRICTED _PC_LINK_MAX _PC_MAX_CANON _PC_MAX_INPUT _PC_NAME_MAX _PC_NO_TRUNC _PC_PATH_MAX _PC_PIPE_BUF _PC_VDISABLE
1821
1822=back
1823
1824=head1 POSIX CONSTANTS
1825
1826=over 8
1827
1828=item Constants
1829
1830_POSIX_ARG_MAX _POSIX_CHILD_MAX _POSIX_CHOWN_RESTRICTED _POSIX_JOB_CONTROL _POSIX_LINK_MAX _POSIX_MAX_CANON _POSIX_MAX_INPUT _POSIX_NAME_MAX _POSIX_NGROUPS_MAX _POSIX_NO_TRUNC _POSIX_OPEN_MAX _POSIX_PATH_MAX _POSIX_PIPE_BUF _POSIX_SAVED_IDS _POSIX_SSIZE_MAX _POSIX_STREAM_MAX _POSIX_TZNAME_MAX _POSIX_VDISABLE _POSIX_VERSION
1831
1832=back
1833
1834=head1 SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
1835
1836=over 8
1837
1838=item Constants
1839
d61b6859 1840_SC_ARG_MAX _SC_CHILD_MAX _SC_CLK_TCK _SC_JOB_CONTROL _SC_NGROUPS_MAX _SC_OPEN_MAX _SC_PAGESIZE _SC_SAVED_IDS _SC_STREAM_MAX _SC_TZNAME_MAX _SC_VERSION
37120919 1841
1842=back
1843
1844=head1 ERRNO
1845
1846=over 8
1847
1848=item Constants
1849
774d564b 1850E2BIG EACCES EADDRINUSE EADDRNOTAVAIL EAFNOSUPPORT EAGAIN EALREADY EBADF
1851EBUSY ECHILD ECONNABORTED ECONNREFUSED ECONNRESET EDEADLK EDESTADDRREQ
1852EDOM EDQUOT EEXIST EFAULT EFBIG EHOSTDOWN EHOSTUNREACH EINPROGRESS EINTR
1853EINVAL EIO EISCONN EISDIR ELOOP EMFILE EMLINK EMSGSIZE ENAMETOOLONG
1854ENETDOWN ENETRESET ENETUNREACH ENFILE ENOBUFS ENODEV ENOENT ENOEXEC
1855ENOLCK ENOMEM ENOPROTOOPT ENOSPC ENOSYS ENOTBLK ENOTCONN ENOTDIR
1856ENOTEMPTY ENOTSOCK ENOTTY ENXIO EOPNOTSUPP EPERM EPFNOSUPPORT EPIPE
1857EPROCLIM EPROTONOSUPPORT EPROTOTYPE ERANGE EREMOTE ERESTART EROFS
1858ESHUTDOWN ESOCKTNOSUPPORT ESPIPE ESRCH ESTALE ETIMEDOUT ETOOMANYREFS
1859ETXTBSY EUSERS EWOULDBLOCK EXDEV
37120919 1860
1861=back
1862
1863=head1 FCNTL
1864
1865=over 8
1866
1867=item Constants
1868
1869FD_CLOEXEC F_DUPFD F_GETFD F_GETFL F_GETLK F_OK F_RDLCK F_SETFD F_SETFL F_SETLK F_SETLKW F_UNLCK F_WRLCK O_ACCMODE O_APPEND O_CREAT O_EXCL O_NOCTTY O_NONBLOCK O_RDONLY O_RDWR O_TRUNC O_WRONLY
1870
1871=back
1872
1873=head1 FLOAT
1874
1875=over 8
1876
1877=item Constants
1878
1879DBL_DIG DBL_EPSILON DBL_MANT_DIG DBL_MAX DBL_MAX_10_EXP DBL_MAX_EXP DBL_MIN DBL_MIN_10_EXP DBL_MIN_EXP FLT_DIG FLT_EPSILON FLT_MANT_DIG FLT_MAX FLT_MAX_10_EXP FLT_MAX_EXP FLT_MIN FLT_MIN_10_EXP FLT_MIN_EXP FLT_RADIX FLT_ROUNDS LDBL_DIG LDBL_EPSILON LDBL_MANT_DIG LDBL_MAX LDBL_MAX_10_EXP LDBL_MAX_EXP LDBL_MIN LDBL_MIN_10_EXP LDBL_MIN_EXP
1880
1881=back
1882
1883=head1 LIMITS
1884
1885=over 8
1886
1887=item Constants
1888
1889ARG_MAX CHAR_BIT CHAR_MAX CHAR_MIN CHILD_MAX INT_MAX INT_MIN LINK_MAX LONG_MAX LONG_MIN MAX_CANON MAX_INPUT MB_LEN_MAX NAME_MAX NGROUPS_MAX OPEN_MAX PATH_MAX PIPE_BUF SCHAR_MAX SCHAR_MIN SHRT_MAX SHRT_MIN SSIZE_MAX STREAM_MAX TZNAME_MAX UCHAR_MAX UINT_MAX ULONG_MAX USHRT_MAX
1890
1891=back
1892
1893=head1 LOCALE
1894
1895=over 8
1896
1897=item Constants
1898
1899LC_ALL LC_COLLATE LC_CTYPE LC_MONETARY LC_NUMERIC LC_TIME
1900
1901=back
1902
1903=head1 MATH
1904
1905=over 8
1906
1907=item Constants
1908
1909HUGE_VAL
1910
1911=back
1912
1913=head1 SIGNAL
1914
1915=over 8
1916
1917=item Constants
1918
774d564b 1919SA_NOCLDSTOP SA_NOCLDWAIT SA_NODEFER SA_ONSTACK SA_RESETHAND SA_RESTART
1920SA_SIGINFO SIGABRT SIGALRM SIGCHLD SIGCONT SIGFPE SIGHUP SIGILL SIGINT
1921SIGKILL SIGPIPE SIGQUIT SIGSEGV SIGSTOP SIGTERM SIGTSTP SIGTTIN SIGTTOU
1922SIGUSR1 SIGUSR2 SIG_BLOCK SIG_DFL SIG_ERR SIG_IGN SIG_SETMASK
1923SIG_UNBLOCK
37120919 1924
1925=back
1926
1927=head1 STAT
1928
1929=over 8
1930
1931=item Constants
1932
1933S_IRGRP S_IROTH S_IRUSR S_IRWXG S_IRWXO S_IRWXU S_ISGID S_ISUID S_IWGRP S_IWOTH S_IWUSR S_IXGRP S_IXOTH S_IXUSR
1934
1935=item Macros
1936
1937S_ISBLK S_ISCHR S_ISDIR S_ISFIFO S_ISREG
1938
1939=back
1940
1941=head1 STDLIB
1942
1943=over 8
1944
1945=item Constants
1946
1947EXIT_FAILURE EXIT_SUCCESS MB_CUR_MAX RAND_MAX
1948
1949=back
1950
1951=head1 STDIO
1952
1953=over 8
1954
1955=item Constants
1956
c07a80fd 1957BUFSIZ EOF FILENAME_MAX L_ctermid L_cuserid L_tmpname TMP_MAX
37120919 1958
1959=back
1960
1961=head1 TIME
1962
1963=over 8
1964
1965=item Constants
1966
1967CLK_TCK CLOCKS_PER_SEC
1968
1969=back
1970
1971=head1 UNISTD
1972
1973=over 8
1974
1975=item Constants
1976
b250498f 1977R_OK SEEK_CUR SEEK_END SEEK_SET STDIN_FILENO STDOUT_FILENO STDERR_FILENO W_OK X_OK
37120919 1978
1979=back
1980
1981=head1 WAIT
1982
1983=over 8
1984
1985=item Constants
1986
1987WNOHANG WUNTRACED
1988
9d6eb86e 1989=over 16
1990
1991=item WNOHANG
1992
1993Do not suspend the calling process until a child process
1994changes state but instead return immediately.
1995
1996=item WUNTRACED
1997
1998Catch stopped child processes.
1999
2000=back
2001
37120919 2002=item Macros
2003
2004WIFEXITED WEXITSTATUS WIFSIGNALED WTERMSIG WIFSTOPPED WSTOPSIG
2005
9d6eb86e 2006=over 16
2007
2008=item WIFEXITED
2009
2010WIFEXITED($?) returns true if the child process exited normally
2011(C<exit()> or by falling off the end of C<main()>)
2012
2013=item WEXITSTATUS
2014
2015WEXITSTATUS($?) returns the normal exit status of the child process
2016(only meaningful if WIFEXITED($?) is true)
2017
2018=item WIFSIGNALED
2019
2020WIFSIGNALED($?) returns true if the child process terminated because
2021of a signal
2022
2023=item WTERMSIG
2024
2025WTERMSIG($?) returns the signal the child process terminated for
2026(only meaningful if WIFSIGNALED($?) is true)
2027
2028=item WIFSTOPPED
2029
2030WIFSTOPPED($?) returns true if the child process is currently stopped
2031(can happen only if you specified the WUNTRACED flag to waitpid())
2032
2033=item WSTOPSIG
2034
2035WSTOPSIG($?) returns the signal the child process was stopped for
2036(only meaningful if WIFSTOPPED($?) is true)
2037
2038=back
2039
37120919 2040=back
2041