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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
pwrite, write — write on a file
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);
DESCRIPTION
The write() function shall attempt to write nbyte bytes from the buffer pointed to by buf to the file
associated with the open file descriptor, fildes.
Before any action described below is taken, and if nbyte is zero and the file is a regular file, the
write() function may detect and return errors as described below. In the absence of errors, or if error
detection is not performed, the write() function shall return zero and have no other results. If nbyte is
zero and the file is not a regular file, the results are unspecified.
On a regular file or other file capable of seeking, the actual writing of data shall proceed from the
position in the file indicated by the file offset associated with fildes. Before successful return from
write(), the file offset shall be incremented by the number of bytes actually written. On a regular file,
if the position of the last byte written is greater than or equal to the length of the file, the length
of the file shall be set to this position plus one.
On a file not capable of seeking, writing shall always take place starting at the current position. The
value of a file offset associated with such a device is undefined.
If the O_APPEND flag of the file status flags is set, the file offset shall be set to the end of the file
prior to each write and no intervening file modification operation shall occur between changing the file
offset and the write operation.
If a write() requests that more bytes be written than there is room for (for example, the file size limit
of the process or the physical end of a medium), only as many bytes as there is room for shall be
written. For example, suppose there is space for 20 bytes more in a file before reaching a limit. A write
of 512 bytes will return 20. The next write of a non-zero number of bytes would give a failure return
(except as noted below).
If the request would cause the file size to exceed the soft file size limit for the process and there is
no room for any bytes to be written, the request shall fail and the implementation shall generate the
SIGXFSZ signal for the thread.
If write() is interrupted by a signal before it writes any data, it shall return -1 with errno set to
[EINTR].
If write() is interrupted by a signal after it successfully writes some data, it shall return the number
of bytes written.
If the value of nbyte is greater than {SSIZE_MAX}, the result is implementation-defined.
After a write() to a regular file has successfully returned:
* Any successful read() from each byte position in the file that was modified by that write shall
return the data specified by the write() for that position until such byte positions are again
modified.
* Any subsequent successful write() to the same byte position in the file shall overwrite that file
data.
Write requests to a pipe or FIFO shall be handled in the same way as a regular file with the following
exceptions:
* There is no file offset associated with a pipe, hence each write request shall append to the end of
the pipe.
* Write requests of {PIPE_BUF} bytes or less shall not be interleaved with data from other processes
doing writes on the same pipe. Writes of greater than {PIPE_BUF} bytes may have data interleaved, on
arbitrary boundaries, with writes by other processes, whether or not the O_NONBLOCK flag of the file
status flags is set.
* If the O_NONBLOCK flag is clear, a write request may cause the thread to block, but on normal
completion it shall return nbyte.
* If the O_NONBLOCK flag is set, write() requests shall be handled differently, in the following ways:
-- The write() function shall not block the thread.
-- A write request for {PIPE_BUF} or fewer bytes shall have the following effect: if there is
sufficient space available in the pipe, write() shall transfer all the data and return the number
of bytes requested. Otherwise, write() shall transfer no data and return -1 with errno set to
[EAGAIN].
-- A write request for more than {PIPE_BUF} bytes shall cause one of the following:
-- When at least one byte can be written, transfer what it can and return the number of bytes
written. When all data previously written to the pipe is read, it shall transfer at least
{PIPE_BUF} bytes.
-- When no data can be written, transfer no data, and return -1 with errno set to [EAGAIN].
When attempting to write to a file descriptor (other than a pipe or FIFO) that supports non-blocking
writes and cannot accept the data immediately:
* If the O_NONBLOCK flag is clear, write() shall block the calling thread until the data can be
accepted.
* If the O_NONBLOCK flag is set, write() shall not block the thread. If some data can be written
without blocking the thread, write() shall write what it can and return the number of bytes written.
Otherwise, it shall return -1 and set errno to [EAGAIN].
Upon successful completion, where nbyte is greater than 0, write() shall mark for update the last data
modification and last file status change timestamps of the file, and if the file is a regular file, the
S_ISUID and S_ISGID bits of the file mode may be cleared.
For regular files, no data transfer shall occur past the offset maximum established in the open file
description associated with fildes.
If fildes refers to a socket, write() shall be equivalent to send() with no flags set.
If the O_DSYNC bit has been set, write I/O operations on the file descriptor shall complete as defined by
synchronized I/O data integrity completion.
If the O_SYNC bit has been set, write I/O operations on the file descriptor shall complete as defined by
synchronized I/O file integrity completion.
If fildes refers to a shared memory object, the result of the write() function is unspecified.
If fildes refers to a typed memory object, the result of the write() function is unspecified.
If fildes refers to a STREAM, the operation of write() shall be determined by the values of the minimum
and maximum nbyte range (packet size) accepted by the STREAM. These values are determined by the topmost
STREAM module. If nbyte falls within the packet size range, nbyte bytes shall be written. If nbyte does
not fall within the range and the minimum packet size value is 0, write() shall break the buffer into
maximum packet size segments prior to sending the data downstream (the last segment may contain less than
the maximum packet size). If nbyte does not fall within the range and the minimum value is non-zero,
write() shall fail with errno set to [ERANGE]. Writing a zero-length buffer (nbyte is 0) to a STREAMS
device sends 0 bytes with 0 returned. However, writing a zero-length buffer to a STREAMS-based pipe or
FIFO sends no message and 0 is returned. The process may issue I_SWROPT ioctl() to enable zero-length
messages to be sent across the pipe or FIFO.
When writing to a STREAM, data messages are created with a priority band of 0. When writing to a STREAM
that is not a pipe or FIFO:
* If O_NONBLOCK is clear, and the STREAM cannot accept data (the STREAM write queue is full due to
internal flow control conditions), write() shall block until data can be accepted.
* If O_NONBLOCK is set and the STREAM cannot accept data, write() shall return -1 and set errno to
[EAGAIN].
* If O_NONBLOCK is set and part of the buffer has been written while a condition in which the STREAM
cannot accept additional data occurs, write() shall terminate and return the number of bytes written.
In addition, write() shall fail if the STREAM head has processed an asynchronous error before the call.
In this case, the value of errno does not reflect the result of write(), but reflects the prior error.
The pwrite() function shall be equivalent to write(), except that it writes into a given position and
does not change the file offset (regardless of whether O_APPEND is set). The first three arguments to
pwrite() are the same as write() with the addition of a fourth argument offset for the desired position
inside the file. An attempt to perform a pwrite() on a file that is incapable of seeking shall result in
an error.
RETURN VALUE
Upon successful completion, these functions shall return the number of bytes actually written to the file
associated with fildes. This number shall never be greater than nbyte. Otherwise, -1 shall be returned
and errno set to indicate the error.
ERRORS
These functions shall fail if:
EAGAIN The file is neither a pipe, nor a FIFO, nor a socket, the O_NONBLOCK flag is set for the file
descriptor, and the thread would be delayed in the write() operation.
EBADF The fildes argument is not a valid file descriptor open for writing.
EFBIG An attempt was made to write a file that exceeds the implementation-defined maximum file size or
the file size limit of the process, and there was no room for any bytes to be written.
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 The write operation was terminated due to the receipt of a signal, and no data was transferred.
EIO The process is a member of a background process group attempting to write to its controlling
terminal, TOSTOP is set, the calling thread is not blocking SIGTTOU, the process is not ignoring
SIGTTOU, and the process group of the process is orphaned. This error may also be returned under
implementation-defined conditions.
ENOSPC There was no free space remaining on the device containing the file.
ERANGE The transfer request size was outside the range supported by the STREAMS file associated with
fildes.
The pwrite() function shall fail if:
EINVAL The file is a regular file or block special file, and the offset argument is negative. The file
offset shall remain unchanged.
ESPIPE The file is incapable of seeking.
The write() function shall fail if:
EAGAIN The file is a pipe or FIFO, the O_NONBLOCK flag is set for the file descriptor, and the thread
would be delayed in the write operation.
EAGAIN or EWOULDBLOCK
The file is a socket, the O_NONBLOCK flag is set for the file descriptor, and the thread would be
delayed in the write operation.
ECONNRESET
A write was attempted on a socket that is not connected.
EPIPE An attempt is made to write to a pipe or FIFO that is not open for reading by any process, or that
only has one end open. A SIGPIPE signal shall also be sent to the thread.
EPIPE A write was attempted on a socket that is shut down for writing, or is no longer connected. In the
latter case, if the socket is of type SOCK_STREAM, a SIGPIPE signal shall also be sent to the
thread.
These functions may fail if:
EINVAL The STREAM or multiplexer referenced by fildes is linked (directly or indirectly) downstream from
a multiplexer.
EIO A physical I/O error has occurred.
ENOBUFS
Insufficient resources were available in the system to perform the operation.
ENXIO A request was made of a nonexistent device, or the request was outside the capabilities of the
device.
ENXIO A hangup occurred on the STREAM being written to.
A write to a STREAMS file may fail if an error message has been received at the STREAM head. In this
case, errno is set to the value included in the error message.
The write() function may fail if:
EACCES A write was attempted on a socket and the calling process does not have appropriate privileges.
ENETDOWN
A write was attempted on a socket and the local network interface used to reach the destination is
down.
ENETUNREACH
A write was attempted on a socket and no route to the network is present.
The following sections are informative.
EXAMPLES
Writing from a Buffer
The following example writes data from the buffer pointed to by buf to the file associated with the file
descriptor fd.
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <string.h>
...
char buf[20];
size_t nbytes;
ssize_t bytes_written;
int fd;
...
strcpy(buf, "This is a test\n");
nbytes = strlen(buf);
bytes_written = write(fd, buf, nbytes);
...
APPLICATION USAGE
None.
RATIONALE
See also the RATIONALE section in read().
An attempt to write to a pipe or FIFO has several major characteristics:
* Atomic/non-atomic: A write is atomic if the whole amount written in one operation is not interleaved
with data from any other process. This is useful when there are multiple writers sending data to a
single reader. Applications need to know how large a write request can be expected to be performed
atomically. This maximum is called {PIPE_BUF}. This volume of POSIX.1‐2017 does not say whether
write requests for more than {PIPE_BUF} bytes are atomic, but requires that writes of {PIPE_BUF} or
fewer bytes shall be atomic.
* Blocking/immediate: Blocking is only possible with O_NONBLOCK clear. If there is enough space for all
the data requested to be written immediately, the implementation should do so. Otherwise, the calling
thread may block; that is, pause until enough space is available for writing. The effective size of a
pipe or FIFO (the maximum amount that can be written in one operation without blocking) may vary
dynamically, depending on the implementation, so it is not possible to specify a fixed value for it.
* Complete/partial/deferred: A write request:
int fildes;
size_t nbyte;
ssize_t ret;
char *buf;
ret = write(fildes, buf, nbyte);
may return:
Complete ret=nbyte
Partial ret<nbyte
This shall never happen if nbyte≤{PIPE_BUF}. If it does happen (with nbyte>{PIPE_BUF}),
this volume of POSIX.1‐2017 does not guarantee atomicity, even if ret≤{PIPE_BUF}, because
atomicity is guaranteed according to the amount requested, not the amount written.
Deferred: ret=-1, errno=[EAGAIN]
This error indicates that a later request may succeed. It does not indicate that it shall
succeed, even if nbyte≤{PIPE_BUF}, because if no process reads from the pipe or FIFO, the
write never succeeds. An application could usefully count the number of times [EAGAIN] is
caused by a particular value of nbyte>{PIPE_BUF} and perhaps do later writes with a smaller
value, on the assumption that the effective size of the pipe may have decreased.
Partial and deferred writes are only possible with O_NONBLOCK set.
The relations of these properties are shown in the following tables:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Write to a Pipe or FIFO with O_NONBLOCK clear │
├──────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Immediately Writable:│ None Some nbyte │
├──────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ nbyte≤{PIPE_BUF} │Atomic blocking Atomic blocking Atomic immediate │
│ │nbyte nbyte nbyte │
├──────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ nbyte>{PIPE_BUF} │Blocking nbyte Blocking nbyte Blocking nbyte │
└──────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
If the O_NONBLOCK flag is clear, a write request shall block if the amount writable immediately is less
than that requested. If the flag is set (by fcntl()), a write request shall never block.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Write to a Pipe or FIFO with O_NONBLOCK set │
├──────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Immediately Writable:│ None Some nbyte │
├──────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ nbyte≤{PIPE_BUF} │-1, [EAGAIN] -1, [EAGAIN] Atomic nbyte │
├──────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ nbyte>{PIPE_BUF} │-1, [EAGAIN] <nbyte or -1, ≤nbyte or -1, │
│ │ [EAGAIN] [EAGAIN] │
└──────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────┘
There is no exception regarding partial writes when O_NONBLOCK is set. With the exception of writing to
an empty pipe, this volume of POSIX.1‐2017 does not specify exactly when a partial write is performed
since that would require specifying internal details of the implementation. Every application should be
prepared to handle partial writes when O_NONBLOCK is set and the requested amount is greater than
{PIPE_BUF}, just as every application should be prepared to handle partial writes on other kinds of file
descriptors.
The intent of forcing writing at least one byte if any can be written is to assure that each write makes
progress if there is any room in the pipe. If the pipe is empty, {PIPE_BUF} bytes must be written; if
not, at least some progress must have been made.
Where this volume of POSIX.1‐2017 requires -1 to be returned and errno set to [EAGAIN], most historical
implementations return zero (with the O_NDELAY flag set, which is the historical predecessor of
O_NONBLOCK, but is not itself in this volume of POSIX.1‐2017). The error indications in this volume of
POSIX.1‐2017 were chosen so that an application can distinguish these cases from end-of-file. While
write() cannot receive an indication of end-of-file, read() can, and the two functions have similar
return values. Also, some existing systems (for example, Eighth Edition) permit a write of zero bytes to
mean that the reader should get an end-of-file indication; for those systems, a return value of zero from
write() indicates a successful write of an end-of-file indication.
Implementations are allowed, but not required, to perform error checking for write() requests of zero
bytes.
The concept of a {PIPE_MAX} limit (indicating the maximum number of bytes that can be written to a pipe
in a single operation) was considered, but rejected, because this concept would unnecessarily limit
application writing.
See also the discussion of O_NONBLOCK in read().
Writes can be serialized with respect to other reads and writes. If a read() of file data can be proven
(by any means) to occur after a write() of the data, it must reflect that write(), even if the calls are
made by different processes. A similar requirement applies to multiple write operations to the same file
position. This is needed to guarantee the propagation of data from write() calls to subsequent read()
calls. This requirement is particularly significant for networked file systems, where some caching
schemes violate these semantics.
Note that this is specified in terms of read() and write(). The XSI extensions readv() and writev() also
obey these semantics. A new ``high-performance'' write analog that did not follow these serialization
requirements would also be permitted by this wording. This volume of POSIX.1‐2017 is also silent about
any effects of application-level caching (such as that done by stdio).
This volume of POSIX.1‐2017 does not specify the value of the file offset after an error is returned;
there are too many cases. For programming errors, such as [EBADF], the concept is meaningless since no
file is involved. For errors that are detected immediately, such as [EAGAIN], clearly the pointer should
not change. After an interrupt or hardware error, however, an updated value would be very useful and is
the behavior of many implementations.
This volume of POSIX.1‐2017 does not specify the behavior of concurrent writes to a regular file from
multiple threads, except that each write is atomic (see Section 2.9.7, Thread Interactions with Regular
File Operations). Applications should use some form of concurrency control.
This volume of POSIX.1‐2017 intentionally does not specify any pwrite() errors related to pipes, FIFOs,
and sockets other than [ESPIPE].
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
None.
SEE ALSO
chmod(), creat(), dup(), fcntl(), getrlimit(), lseek(), open(), pipe(), read(), ulimit(), writev()
The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2017, <limits.h>, <stropts.h>, <sys_uio.h>, <unistd.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 WRITE(3POSIX)