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

PROLOG
       This  manual  page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The Linux
       implementation of this interface may differ (consult the  corresponding
       Linux  manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may
       not be implemented on Linux.
NAME
       rmdir - remove a directory
SYNOPSIS
       #include <unistd.h>
       int rmdir(const char *path);

DESCRIPTION
       The rmdir() function shall remove a directory whose name  is  given  by
       path. The directory shall be removed only if it is an empty directory.
       If the directory is the root directory or the current working directory
       of any process, it is unspecified whether  the  function  succeeds,  or
       whether it shall fail and set errno to [EBUSY].
       If path names a symbolic link, then rmdir() shall fail and set errno to
       [ENOTDIR].
       If the path argument refers to a path whose final component  is  either
       dot or dot-dot, rmdir() shall fail.
       If  the  directory's link count becomes 0 and no process has the direc-
       tory open, the space occupied by the directory shall be freed  and  the
       directory  shall no longer be accessible. If one or more processes have
       the directory open when the last link is removed, the dot  and  dot-dot
       entries, if present, shall be removed before rmdir() returns and no new
       entries may be created in the directory, but the directory shall not be
       removed until all references to the directory are closed.
       If  the directory is not an empty directory, rmdir() shall fail and set
       errno to [EEXIST] or [ENOTEMPTY].
       Upon successful completion, the rmdir() function shall mark for  update
       the st_ctime and st_mtime fields of the parent directory.
RETURN VALUE
       Upon successful completion, the function rmdir() shall return 0. Other-
       wise, -1 shall be returned, and errno set to indicate the error. If  -1
       is returned, the named directory shall not be changed.
ERRORS
       The rmdir() function shall fail if:
       EACCES Search  permission  is denied on a component of the path prefix,
              or write permission is denied on the  parent  directory  of  the
              directory to be removed.
       EBUSY  The directory to be removed is currently in use by the system or
              some process and the implementation  considers  this  to  be  an
              error.
       EEXIST or ENOTEMPTY
              The  path argument names a directory that is not an empty direc-
              tory, or there are hard links to the directory other than dot or
              a single entry in dot-dot.
       EINVAL The path argument contains a last component that is dot.
       EIO    A physical I/O error has occurred.
       ELOOP  A loop exists in symbolic links encountered during resolution of
              the path argument.
       ENAMETOOLONG
              The length of the path argument exceeds {PATH_MAX} or a pathname
              component is longer than {NAME_MAX}.
       ENOENT A  component of path does not name an existing file, or the path
              argument names a nonexistent directory or  points  to  an  empty
              string.
       ENOTDIR
              A component of path is not a directory.
       EPERM or EACCES
              The S_ISVTX flag is set on the parent directory of the directory
              to be removed and the caller is not the owner of  the  directory
              to  be removed, nor is the caller the owner of the parent direc-
              tory, nor does the caller have the appropriate privileges.
       EROFS  The directory entry to be removed resides on  a  read-only  file
              system.

       The rmdir() function may fail if:
       ELOOP  More  than  {SYMLOOP_MAX} symbolic links were encountered during
              resolution of the path argument.
       ENAMETOOLONG
              As a result of encountering a symbolic link in resolution of the
              path  argument,  the  length  of the substituted pathname string
              exceeded {PATH_MAX}.

       The following sections are informative.
EXAMPLES
   Removing a Directory
       The  following  example  shows  how  to  remove   a   directory   named
       /home/cnd/mod1.

              #include <unistd.h>

              int status;
              ...
              status = rmdir("/home/cnd/mod1");
APPLICATION USAGE
       None.
RATIONALE
       The rmdir() and rename() functions originated in 4.2 BSD, and they used
       [ENOTEMPTY] for the condition when the directory to be removed does not
       exist or new already exists. When the 1984 /usr/group standard was pub-
       lished, it contained  [EEXIST]  instead.   When  these  functions  were
       adopted  into System V, the 1984 /usr/group standard was used as a ref-
       erence. Therefore, several existing  applications  and  implementations
       support/use  both  forms,  and  no agreement could be reached on either
       value. All implementations are required to  supply  both  [EEXIST]  and
       [ENOTEMPTY] in <errno.h> with distinct values, so that applications can
       use both values in C-language case statements.
       The meaning of deleting pathname /dot is unclear, because the  name  of
       the  file  (directory)  in  the  parent  directory to be removed is not
       clear, particularly in the presence of multiple links to a directory.
       The POSIX.1-1990 standard was silent with regard  to  the  behavior  of
       rmdir()  when  there  are  multiple  hard  links to the directory being
       removed. The requirement to set errno to [EEXIST] or [ENOTEMPTY] clari-
       fies the behavior in this case.
       If the process' current working directory is being removed, that should
       be an allowed error.
       Virtually all existing implementations detect [ENOTEMPTY] or  the  case
       of  dot-dot.  The  text in Error Numbers about returning any one of the
       possible errors permits that behavior to continue.  The  [ELOOP]  error
       may  be  returned if more than {SYMLOOP_MAX} symbolic links are encoun-
       tered during resolution of the path argument.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
       None.
SEE ALSO
       Error Numbers, mkdir(), remove(), unlink(), the Base Definitions volume
       of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, <unistd.h>
COPYRIGHT
       Portions  of  this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form
       from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technology
       --  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                            RMDIR(3P)