preadv man page on OpenBSD

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READ(2)			  OpenBSD Programmer's Manual		       READ(2)

NAME
     read, readv, pread, preadv - read input

SYNOPSIS
     #include <sys/types.h>
     #include <unistd.h>

     ssize_t
     read(int d, void *buf, size_t nbytes);

     ssize_t
     pread(int d, void *buf, size_t nbytes, off_t offset);

     #include <sys/types.h>
     #include <sys/uio.h>
     #include <unistd.h>

     ssize_t
     readv(int d, const struct iovec *iov, int iovcnt);

     ssize_t
     preadv(int d, const struct iovec *iov, int iovcnt, off_t offset);

DESCRIPTION
     read() attempts to read nbytes of data from the object referenced by the
     descriptor d into the buffer pointed to by buf.  readv() performs the
     same action, but scatters the input data into the iovcnt buffers
     specified by the members of the iov array: iov[0], iov[1], ...,
     iov[iovcnt-1].  pread() and preadv() perform the same functions, but read
     from the specified position in the file without modifying the file
     pointer.

     For readv() and preadv(), the iovec structure is defined as:

	   struct iovec {
		   void *iov_base;
		   size_t iov_len;
	   };

     Each iovec entry specifies the base address and length of an area in
     memory where data should be placed.  readv() will always fill an area
     completely before proceeding to the next.

     On objects capable of seeking, the read() starts at a position given by
     the pointer associated with d (see lseek(2)).  Upon return from read(),
     the pointer is incremented by the number of bytes actually read.

     Objects that are not capable of seeking always read from the current
     position.	The value of the pointer associated with such an object is
     undefined.

     Upon successful completion, read(), readv(), pread(), and preadv() return
     the number of bytes actually read and placed in the buffer.  The system
     guarantees to read the number of bytes requested if the descriptor
     references a normal file that has that many bytes left before the end-of-
     file, but in no other case.

     Note that readv() and preadv() will fail if the value of iovcnt exceeds
     the constant IOV_MAX.

RETURN VALUES
     If successful, the number of bytes actually read is returned.  Upon
     reading end-of-file, zero is returned.  Otherwise, a -1 is returned and
     the global variable errno is set to indicate the error.

ERRORS
     read(), readv(), pread(), and preadv() will succeed unless:

     [EBADF]	   d is not a valid file or socket descriptor open for
		   reading.

     [EFAULT]	   Part of iov or buf points outside the process's allocated
		   address space.

     [EIO]	   An I/O error occurred while reading from the file system,
		   or the process is a member of a background process
		   attempting to read from its controlling terminal, the
		   process is ignoring or blocking the SIGTTIN signal or the
		   process group is orphaned.

     [EINTR]	   A read from a slow device (i.e. one that might block for an
		   arbitrary amount of time) was interrupted by the delivery
		   of a signal before any data arrived.

     [EINVAL]	   The pointer associated with d was negative.

     [EAGAIN]	   The file was marked for non-blocking I/O, and no data were
		   ready to be read.

     In addition, read() and pread() may return the following error:

     [EINVAL]	   nbytes was larger than SSIZE_MAX.

     pread() and preadv() may return the following error:

     [ESPIPE]	   d is associated with a pipe, socket, or FIFO.

     readv() and preadv() may return one of the following errors:

     [EINVAL]	   iovcnt was less than or equal to 0, or greater than
		   IOV_MAX.

     [EINVAL]	   The sum of the iov_len values in the iov array overflowed
		   an ssize_t.

SEE ALSO
     dup(2), fcntl(2), open(2), pipe(2), poll(2), select(2), socket(2),
     socketpair(2)

STANDARDS
     The read() function conforms to IEEE Std 1003.1-1990 (``POSIX'').	The
     readv() and pread() functions conform to X/Open Portability Guide Issue
     4.2 (``XPG4.2'').

HISTORY
     The preadv() function first appeared in OpenBSD 2.7.  The pread()
     function appeared in AT&T System V.4 UNIX.	 The readv() function call
     appeared in 4.2BSD.  The read() function call appeared in Version 2 AT&T
     UNIX.

CAVEATS
     Error checks should explicitly test for -1.  Code such as

	     while ((nr = read(fd, buf, sizeof(buf))) > 0)

     is not maximally portable, as some platforms allow for nbytes to range
     between SSIZE_MAX and SIZE_MAX - 2, in which case the return value of an
     error-free read() may appear as a negative number distinct from -1.
     Proper loops should use

	     while ((nr = read(fd, buf, sizeof(buf))) != -1 && nr != 0)

OpenBSD 4.9		       December 30, 2009		   OpenBSD 4.9
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