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MKNOD(2)                    BSD System Calls Manual                   MKNOD(2)

NAME
     mknod -- make a special file node

SYNOPSIS
     #include <sys/stat.h>

     int
     mknod(const char *path, mode_t mode, dev_t dev);

DESCRIPTION
     The device special file path is created with the major and minor device numbers extracted from mode.
     The access permissions of path are constrained by the umask(2) of the parent process.

     If mode indicates a block or character special file, dev is a configuration-dependent specification of
     a character or block I/O device and the superblock of the device.  If mode does not indicate a block
     special or character special device, dev is ignored.

     Mknod() requires super-user privileges.

RETURN VALUES
     Upon successful completion, a value of 0 is returned.  Otherwise, a value of -1 is returned and errno
     is set to indicate the error.

ERRORS
     Mknod() will fail and the file will be not created if:

     [EACCES]           Search permission is denied for a component of the path prefix.

     [EACCES]           Write permission is denied for the parent directory.

     [EDQUOT]           The directory in which the entry for the new node is being placed cannot be
                        extended; the user's quota of disk blocks on the file system containing the direc-tory directory
                        tory has been exhausted.

     [EDQUOT]           The user's quota of inodes for the file system on which the node is being created
                        has been exhausted.

     [EEXIST]           The named file exists.

     [EFAULT]           Path points outside the process's allocated address space.

     [EINVAL]           One or more of the arguments is invalid.

     [EIO]              An I/O error occurs while making the directory entry or allocating the inode.

     [ELOOP]            Too many symbolic links were encountered in translating the pathname.  This is taken
                        to be indicative of a looping symbolic link.

     [ENAMETOOLONG]     A component of a pathname exceeds {NAME_MAX} characters or an entire path name
                        exceeds {PATH_MAX} characters.

     [ENOENT]           A component of the path prefix does not exist or path is an empty string.

     [ENOSPC]           The directory in which the entry for the new node is being placed cannot be
                        extended, because there is no space left on the file system containing the direc-tory. directory.
                        tory.

     [ENOSPC]           There are no free inodes on the file system on which the node is being created.

     [ENOTDIR]          A component of the path prefix is not a directory.

     [EPERM]            The process's effective user ID is not super-user.

     [EROFS]            The created node would reside on a read-only file system.

LEGACY SYNOPSIS
     #include <unistd.h>

     The include file has changed.

SEE ALSO
     chmod(2), stat(2), umask(2), compat(5)

HISTORY
     A mknod() function call appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.

4th Berkeley Distribution        June 4, 1993        4th Berkeley Distribution