WRITE(2) BSD System Calls Manual WRITE(2)NAME
pwrite, write, writev — write output
LIBRARY
Standard C Library (libc, -lc)
SYNOPSIS
#include <unistd.h>
ssize_t
pwrite(int fildes, const void *buf, size_t nbyte, off_t offset);
ssize_t
write(int fildes, const void *buf, size_t nbyte);
#include <sys/uio.h>
ssize_t
writev(int fildes, const struct iovec *iov, int iovcnt);
DESCRIPTIONWrite() attempts to write nbyte of data to the object referenced by the
descriptor fildes from the buffer pointed to by buf. Writev() performs
the same action, but gathers the output data from the iovcnt buffers
specified by the members of the iov array: iov[0], iov[1], ...,
iov[iovcnt-1]. Pwrite() performs the same function, but writes to the
specified position in the file without modifying the file pointer.
For writev(), the iovec structure is defined as:
struct iovec {
char *iov_base; /* Base address. */
size_t iov_len; /* Length. */
};
Each iovec entry specifies the base address and length of an area in mem‐
ory from which data should be written. Writev() will always write a com‐
plete area before proceeding to the next.
On objects capable of seeking, the write() starts at a position given by
the pointer associated with fildes, see lseek(2). Upon return from
write(), the pointer is incremented by the number of bytes which were
written.
Objects that are not capable of seeking always write from the current
position. The value of the pointer associated with such an object is
undefined.
If the real user is not the super-user, then write() clears the set-user-
id bit on a file. This prevents penetration of system security by a user
who “captures” a writable set-user-id file owned by the super-user.
When using non-blocking I/O on objects, such as sockets, that are subject
to flow control, write() and writev() may write fewer bytes than
requested; the return value must be noted, and the remainder of the oper‐
ation should be retried when possible.
RETURN VALUES
Upon successful completion the number of bytes which were written is
returned. Otherwise, a -1 is returned and the global variable errno is
set to indicate the error.
ERRORS
The write(), writev(), and pwrite() system calls will fail and the file
pointer will remain unchanged if:
[EDQUOT] The user's quota of disk blocks on the file system
containing the file is exhausted.
[EFAULT] Part of iov or data to be written to the file points
outside the process's allocated address space.
[EINVAL] The pointer associated with fildes is negative.
The write() and pwrite() system calls will fail and the file pointer will
remain unchanged if:
[EAGAIN] The file is marked for non-blocking I/O, and no data
could be written immediately.
[EBADF] fildes is not a valid file descriptor open for writ‐
ing.
[ECONNRESET] A write is attempted on a socket that is not con‐
nected.
[EFBIG] An attempt is made to write a file that exceeds the
process's file size limit or the maximum file size.
[EFBIG] The file is a regular file, nbyte is greater than 0,
and the starting position is greater than or equal to
the offset maximum established in the open file
description associated with fildes.
[EINTR] A signal interrupts the write before it could be com‐
pleted.
[EIO] An I/O error occurs while reading from or writing to
the file system.
[ENETDOWN] A write is attempted on a socket and the local network
interface used to reach the destination is down.
[ENETUNREACH] A write is attempted on a socket and no route to the
network is present.
[ENOSPC] There is no free space remaining on the file system
containing the file.
[ENXIO] A request is made of a nonexistent device, or the
request is outside the capabilities of the device.
[EPIPE] An attempt is made to write to a pipe that is not open
for reading by any process.
[EPIPE] An attempt is made to write to a socket of type
SOCK_STREAM that is not connected to a peer socket.
The write() and writev() calls may also return the following errors:
[EAGAIN] See EWOULDBLOCK, below.
[EWOULDBLOCK] The file descriptor is for a socket, is marked O_NON‐
BLOCK, and write would block. The exact error code
depends on the protocol, but EWOULDBLOCK is more com‐
mon.
In addition, writev() may return one of the following errors:
[EDESTADDRREQ] The destination is no longer available when writing to
a UNIX domain datagram socket on which connect(2) had
been used to set a destination address.
[EINVAL] Iovcnt is less than or equal to 0, or greater than
UIO_MAXIOV.
[EINVAL] One of the iov_len values in the iov array is nega‐
tive.
[EINVAL] The sum of the iov_len values in the iov array over‐
flows a 32-bit integer.
[ENOBUFS] The mbuf pool has been completely exhausted when writ‐
ing to a socket.
The pwrite() call may also return the following errors:
[EINVAL] The specified file offset is invalid.
[ESPIPE] The file descriptor is associated with a pipe, socket,
or FIFO.
LEGACY SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/uio.h>
#include <unistd.h>
These include files are needed for all three functions.
SEE ALSOfcntl(2), lseek(2), open(2), pipe(2), select(2), compat(5)STANDARDS
The write() function call is expected to conform to ISO/IEC 9945-1:1990
(“POSIX.1”). The writev() and pwrite() functions are expected to conform
to X/Open Portability Guide Issue 4, Version 2 (“XPG4.2”).
HISTORY
The pwrite() function call appeared in AT&T System V Release 4 UNIX. The
writev() function call appeared in 4.2BSD. A write() function call
appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.
BSD April 2, 1994 BSD
