REVOKE(2) BSD System Calls Manual REVOKE(2)NAME
revoke — revoke file access
SYNOPSIS
int
revoke(char *path);
DESCRIPTION
The revoke function invalidates all current open file descriptors in the
system for the file named by path. Subsequent operations on any such
descriptors fail, with the exceptions that a read() from a character
device file which has been revoked returns a count of zero (end of file),
and a close() call will succeed. If the file is a special file for a
device which is open, the device close function is called as if all open
references to the file had been closed.
Access to a file may be revoked only by its owner or the super user. The
revoke function is currently supported only for block and character spe‐
cial device files. It is normally used to prepare a terminal device for
a new login session, preventing any access by a previous user of the ter‐
minal.
RETURN VALUES
A 0 value indicated that the call succeeded. A -1 return value indicates
an error occurred and errno is set to indicated the reason.
ERRORS
Access to the named file is revoked unless one of the following:
[ENOTDIR] A component of the path prefix is not a directory.
[ENAMETOOLONG] A component of a pathname exceeded 255 characters, or
an entire path name exceeded 1024 characters.
[ENOENT] The named file or a component of the path name does
not exist.
[EACCES] Search permission is denied for a component of the
path prefix.
[ELOOP] Too many symbolic links were encountered in translat‐
ing the pathname.
[EFAULT] Path points outside the process's allocated address
space.
[EINVAL] The named file is neither a character special or block
special file.
[EPERM] The caller is neither the owner of the file nor the
super user.
SEE ALSOclose(2)HISTORY
The revoke function was introduced in 4.3BSD-Reno.
BSD June 4, 1993 BSD