MKNOD(2)                  OpenBSD Programmer's 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 descen-
     dant from the umask(2) of the parent process.

     If mode indicates a block or character special file, dev is a configura-
     tion 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 superuser 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:

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

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

     [ENOENT]      A component of the path prefix does not exist.

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

     [ELOOP]       Too many symbolic links were encountered in translating the
                   pathname.

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

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

     [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 directory.

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

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

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

     [EROFS]       The named file resides on a read-only file system.

     [EEXIST]      The named file exists.

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

     [EINVAL]      The process is running within an alternate root directory,
                   as created by chroot(2).

SEE ALSO
     chmod(2), chroot(2), stat(2), umask(2)

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

OpenBSD 4.1                      June 4, 1993                                2
