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ABORT(3P)                  POSIX Programmer's Manual                 ABORT(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
       abort - generate an abnormal process abort
SYNOPSIS
       #include <stdlib.h>
       void abort(void);

DESCRIPTION
       The abort() function shall cause abnormal process termination to occur,
       unless  the  signal SIGABRT is being caught and the signal handler does
       not return.
       The abnormal termination processing shall include the  default  actions
       defined  for  SIGABRT  and may include an attempt to effect fclose() on
       all open streams.
       The SIGABRT signal shall be sent to the calling process as if by  means
       of raise() with the argument SIGABRT.
       The  status  made  available to wait() or waitpid() by abort() shall be
       that of a process terminated by the SIGABRT signal.  The abort()  func-
       tion shall override blocking or ignoring the SIGABRT signal.
RETURN VALUE
       The abort() function shall not return.
ERRORS
       No errors are defined.
       The following sections are informative.
EXAMPLES
       None.
APPLICATION USAGE
       Catching  the signal is intended to provide the application writer with
       a portable means to abort processing, free from  possible  interference
       from any implementation-defined functions.
RATIONALE
       The  ISO/IEC 9899:1999  standard  requires  the  abort() function to be
       async-signal-safe. Since IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 defers to the ISO C stan-
       dard,  this  required  a change to the DESCRIPTION from ``shall include
       the effect  of  fclose()''  to  ``may  include  an  attempt  to  effect
       fclose().''
       The  revised  wording permits some backwards-compatibility and avoids a
       potential deadlock situation.
       The Open Group Base Resolution bwg2002-003  is  applied,  removing  the
       following XSI shaded paragraph from the DESCRIPTION:
       ``On  XSI-conformant systems, in addition the abnormal termination pro-
       cessing shall  include  the  effect  of  fclose()  on  message  catalog
       descriptors.''
       There were several reasons to remove this paragraph:
        * No special processing of open message catalogs needs to be performed
          prior to abnormal process termination.
        * The main reason to specifically mention that  abort()  includes  the
          effect  of fclose() on open streams is to flush output queued on the
          stream. Message catalogs in this context are read-only  and,  there-
          fore, do not need to be flushed.
        * The  effect  of fclose() on a message catalog descriptor is unspeci-
          fied.  Message catalog descriptors are allowed, but not required  to
          be  implemented  using a file descriptor, but there is no mention in
          IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 of a message catalog descriptor using  a  stan-
          dard I/O stream FILE object as would be expected by fclose().
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
       None.
SEE ALSO
       exit(),  kill(), raise(), signal(), wait(), waitpid(), the Base Defini-
       tions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, <stdlib.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                            ABORT(3P)