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PROLOG
This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. The Linux implementation of this interface
may differ (consult the corresponding Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface
may not be implemented on Linux.
NAME
msync — synchronize memory with physical storage
SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/mman.h>
int msync(void *addr, size_t len, int flags);
DESCRIPTION
The msync() function shall write all modified data to permanent storage locations, if any, in those whole
pages containing any part of the address space of the process starting at address addr and continuing for
len bytes. If no such storage exists, msync() need not have any effect. If requested, the msync()
function shall then invalidate cached copies of data.
The implementation may require that addr be a multiple of the page size as returned by sysconf().
For mappings to files, the msync() function shall ensure that all write operations are completed as
defined for synchronized I/O data integrity completion. It is unspecified whether the implementation also
writes out other file attributes. When the msync() function is called on MAP_PRIVATE mappings, any
modified data shall not be written to the underlying object and shall not cause such data to be made
visible to other processes. It is unspecified whether data in MAP_PRIVATE mappings has any permanent
storage locations. The effect of msync() on a shared memory object or a typed memory object is
unspecified. The behavior of this function is unspecified if the mapping was not established by a call
to mmap().
The flags argument is constructed from the bitwise-inclusive OR of one or more of the following flags
defined in the <sys/mman.h> header:
┌───────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┐
│ Symbolic Constant │ Description │
├───────────────────┼──────────────────────────────┤
│ MS_ASYNC │ Perform asynchronous writes. │
│ MS_SYNC │ Perform synchronous writes. │
│ MS_INVALIDATE │ Invalidate cached data. │
└───────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┘
When MS_ASYNC is specified, msync() shall return immediately once all the write operations are initiated
or queued for servicing; when MS_SYNC is specified, msync() shall not return until all write operations
are completed as defined for synchronized I/O data integrity completion. Either MS_ASYNC or MS_SYNC shall
be specified, but not both.
When MS_INVALIDATE is specified, msync() shall invalidate all cached copies of mapped data that are
inconsistent with the permanent storage locations such that subsequent references shall obtain data that
was consistent with the permanent storage locations sometime between the call to msync() and the first
subsequent memory reference to the data.
If msync() causes any write to a file, the file's last data modification and last file status change
timestamps shall be marked for update.
RETURN VALUE
Upon successful completion, msync() shall return 0; otherwise, it shall return -1 and set errno to
indicate the error.
ERRORS
The msync() function shall fail if:
EBUSY Some or all of the addresses in the range starting at addr and continuing for len bytes are
locked, and MS_INVALIDATE is specified.
EINVAL The value of flags is invalid.
ENOMEM The addresses in the range starting at addr and continuing for len bytes are outside the range
allowed for the address space of a process or specify one or more pages that are not mapped.
The msync() function may fail if:
EINVAL The value of addr is not a multiple of the page size as returned by sysconf().
The following sections are informative.
EXAMPLES
None.
APPLICATION USAGE
The msync() function is only supported if the Synchronized Input and Output option is supported, and thus
need not be available on all implementations.
The msync() function should be used by programs that require a memory object to be in a known state; for
example, in building transaction facilities.
Normal system activity can cause pages to be written to disk. Therefore, there are no guarantees that
msync() is the only control over when pages are or are not written to disk.
RATIONALE
The msync() function writes out data in a mapped region to the permanent storage for the underlying
object. The call to msync() ensures data integrity of the file.
After the data is written out, any cached data may be invalidated if the MS_INVALIDATE flag was
specified. This is useful on systems that do not support read/write consistency.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
None.
SEE ALSO
mmap(), sysconf()
The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2017, <sys_mman.h>
COPYRIGHT
Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard
for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright (C) 2018 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original
IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document.
The original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .
Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are most likely to have been introduced
during the conversion of the source files to man page format. To report such errors, see
https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .
IEEE/The Open Group 2017 MSYNC(3POSIX)