gno/usr.man/man2/unlink.2

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.\" @(#)unlink.2 8.1 (Berkeley) 6/4/93
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.TH UNLINK 2 "24 January 1997" GNO "System Calls"
.SH NAME
.BR unlink
\- remove directory entry
.SH SYNOPSIS
#include <unistd.h>
.sp 1
int
\fBunlink\fR (const char *\fIpath\fR);
.SH DESCRIPTION
The
.BR unlink
function
removes the link named by
.I path
from its directory and decrements the link count of the
file which was referenced by the link.
If that decrement reduces the link count of the file
to zero,
and no process has the file open, then
all resources associated with the file are reclaimed.
If one or more process have the file open when the last link is removed,
the link is removed, but the removal of the file is delayed until
all references to it have been closed.
.SH RETURN VALUES
Upon successful completion, a value of 0 is returned.
Otherwise, a value of -1 is returned and
.IR errno
is set to indicate the error.
.SH BUGS
Under currently available filesystems, there can be only a single link
to a given file.
.LP
The GNO
.BR unlink ,
unlike its UNIX counterpart, cannot currently unlink an open file.
Attempting to do so will return an error, and the file will still exist
when closed.
.SH SEE ALSO
.BR close (2),
.BR link (2),
.BR rmdir (2)
.BR symlink (7)
.SH HISTORY
An
.BR unlink
function call appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.