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 (con-
       sult 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() function 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 standard, 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 processing shall include the effect of fclose() on mes-
       sage 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  out-
          put queued on the stream. Message catalogs in this context are read-only and, therefore, do not need to be flushed.

        * The  effect  of fclose() on a message catalog descriptor is unspecified.  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 standard I/O stream FILE object as would be expected by fclose().

FUTURE DIRECTIONS
       None.

SEE ALSO
       exit(), kill(), raise(), signal(), wait(), waitpid(), the Base Definitions 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,  Copy-
       right (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.open-
       group.org/unix/online.html .



IEEE/The Open Group                                           2003                                                     ABORT(3P)