ulimit(3) [netbsd man page]

ULIMIT(3)						   BSD Library Functions Manual 						 ULIMIT(3)

NAME

     ulimit -- get and set process limits

LIBRARY

     Standard C Library (libc, -lc)

SYNOPSIS

     #include <ulimit.h>

     long int
     ulimit(int cmd, ...);

DESCRIPTION

     The ulimit() function provides a method to query or alter resource limits of the calling process.	The method to be performed is specified by
     the cmd argument; possible values are:

     UL_GETFSIZE    Return the soft file size limit of the process.  The value returned is in units of 512-byte blocks.  If the result cannot be
		    represented in an object of type long int, the result is unspecified.

     UL_SETFSIZE    Set the hard and soft file size limits of the process to the value of the second argument passed, which is in units of
		    512-byte blocks, and which is expected to be of type long int.  The new file size limit of the process is returned.  Any
		    process may decrease the limit, but raising it is only permitted if the caller is the super-user.

     If successful, the ulimit() function will not change the setting of errno.

RETURN VALUES

     If successful, the ulimit() function returns the value of the requested limit.  Otherwise, it returns -1, sets errno to indicate an error,
     and the limit is not changed.  Therefore, to detect an error condition applications should set errno to 0, call ulimit(), and check if -1 is
     returned and errno is non-zero.

ERRORS

     The ulimit() function will fail if:

     [EINVAL]		The cmd argument is not valid.

     [EPERM]		It was attempted to increase a limit, and the caller is not the super-user.

SEE ALSO

     getrlimit(2), setrlimit(2)

STANDARDS

     The ulimit() function conforms to X/Open System Interfaces and Headers Issue 5 (``XSH5'') and IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 (``POSIX.1'').	It was
     marked as obsolete in the IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 (``POSIX.1'') revision, which recommended the use of getrlimit(2) and setrlimit(2) instead,
     noting that because ulimit() uses the type long rather than rlim_t, it may not be sufficient for file sizes on many current systems.

BSD
								  April 30, 2010							       BSD

ULIMIT(3P)						     POSIX Programmer's Manual							ULIMIT(3P)

PROLOG

       This  manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The Linux implementation of this interface may differ (consult the correspond-
       ing Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may not be implemented on Linux.

NAME

       ulimit - get and set process limits

SYNOPSIS

       #include <ulimit.h>

       long ulimit(int cmd, ...);

DESCRIPTION

       The ulimit() function shall control process limits. The process limits that can be controlled by this function include the maximum size	of
       a  single  file	that  can  be  written (this is equivalent to using setrlimit() with RLIMIT_FSIZE). The cmd values, defined in <ulimit.h>,
       include:

       UL_GETFSIZE
	      Return the file size limit (RLIMIT_FSIZE) of the process. The limit shall be in units of 512-byte blocks and shall be  inherited	by
	      child  processes.  Files	of any size can be read. The return value shall be the integer part of the soft file size limit divided by
	      512. If the result cannot be represented as a long, the result is unspecified.

       UL_SETFSIZE
	      Set the file size limit for output operations of the process to the value of the second argument, taken as  a  long,  multiplied	by
	      512. If the result would overflow an rlim_t, the actual value set is unspecified. Any process may decrease its own limit, but only a
	      process with appropriate privileges may increase the limit. The return value shall be the integer part of the new  file  size  limit
	      divided by 512.

       The ulimit() function shall not change the setting of errno if successful.

       As all return values are permissible in a successful situation, an application wishing to check for error situations should set errno to 0,
       then call ulimit(), and, if it returns -1, check to see if errno is non-zero.

RETURN VALUE

       Upon successful completion, ulimit() shall return the value of the requested limit. Otherwise, -1 shall be returned and errno set to  indi-
       cate the error.

ERRORS

       The ulimit() function shall fail and the limit shall be unchanged if:

       EINVAL The cmd argument is not valid.

       EPERM  A process not having appropriate privileges attempts to increase its file size limit.

       The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES

       None.

APPLICATION USAGE

       None.

RATIONALE

       None.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

       None.

SEE ALSO

       getrlimit(), setrlimit(), write(), the Base Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, <ulimit.h>

COPYRIGHT

       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technol-
       ogy -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003 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 .

IEEE
/The Open Group						       2003								ULIMIT(3P)