setpriority(2) [opendarwin man page]
GETPRIORITY(2) BSD System Calls Manual GETPRIORITY(2) NAME
getpriority, setpriority -- get/set program scheduling priority SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/time.h> #include <sys/resource.h> int getpriority(int which, int who); int setpriority(int which, int who, int prio); DESCRIPTION
The scheduling priority of the process, process group, or user, as indicated by which and who is obtained with the getpriority() call and set with the setpriority() call. Which is one of PRIO_PROCESS, PRIO_PGRP, or PRIO_USER, and who is interpreted relative to which (a process identifier for PRIO_PROCESS, process group identifier for PRIO_PGRP, and a user ID for PRIO_USER). A zero value of who denotes the current process, process group, or user. Prio is a value in the range -20 to 20. The default priority is 0; lower priorities cause more favorable scheduling. The getpriority() call returns the highest priority (lowest numerical value) enjoyed by any of the specified processes. The setpriority() call sets the priorities of all of the specified processes to the specified value. Only the super-user may lower priorities. RETURN VALUES
Since getpriority() can legitimately return the value -1, it is necessary to clear the external variable errno prior to the call, then check it afterward to determine if a -1 is an error or a legitimate value. The setpriority() call returns 0 if there is no error, or -1 if there is. ERRORS
Getpriority() and setpriority() will fail if: [ESRCH] No process was located using the which and who values specified. [EINVAL] Which was not one of PRIO_PROCESS, PRIO_PGRP, or PRIO_USER. In addition to the errors indicated above, setpriority() will fail if: [EPERM] A process was located, but neither its effective nor real user ID matched the effective user ID of the caller. [EACCES] A non super-user attempted to lower a process priority. SEE ALSO
nice(1), fork(2), renice(8) HISTORY
The getpriority() function call appeared in 4.2BSD. 4th Berkeley Distribution June 4, 1993 4th Berkeley Distribution
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getpriority(2) System Calls Manual getpriority(2) Name getpriority, setpriority - get or set program scheduling priority Syntax #include <sys/time.h> #include <sys/resource.h> #define PRIO_PROCESS 0 /* process */ #define PRIO_PGRP 1 /* process group */ #define PRIO_USER 2 /* user id */ prio = getpriority(which, who) int prio, which, who; setpriority(which, who, prio) int which, who, prio; Description The scheduling priority of the process, process group, or user, as indicated by which and who, is obtained with the call and set with the call. The which is one of PRIO_PROCESS, PRIO_PGRP, or PRIO_USER, and who is interpreted relative to which (a process identifier for PRIO_PROCESS, process group identifier for PRIO_PGRP, and a user ID for PRIO_USER). The prio is a value in the range -20 to 20. The default priority is 0; lower priorities cause more favorable scheduling. The call returns the highest priority (lowest numerical value) enjoyed by any of the specified processes. The call sets the priorities of all of the specified processes to the specified value. Only the superuser may lower priorities. Return Values Since can legitimately return the value -1, it is necessary to clear the external variable errno prior to the call, then check it afterward to determine if a -1 is an error or a legitimate value. The call returns 0 if there is no error or -1 if there is. Diagnostics The and system calls fail under the following conditions: [ESRCH] No processes were located using the which and who values specified. [EINVAL] The which was not one of PRIO_PROCESS, PRIO_PGRP, or PRIO_USER. In addition to the errors indicated above, setpriority can fail under the following conditions: [EPERM] A process was located, but neither its effective nor real user ID matched the effective user ID of the caller. [EACCES] A user other than the superuser attempted to change a process priority to a negative value. See Also nice(1), fork(2), renice(8) getpriority(2)