MKNOD(2)

NAME
mknod - make a special file

SYNOPSIS
mknod(path, mode, dev)
char *path;
int mode, dev;

DESCRIPTION
Mknod creates a new file whose name is path. The mode of the new file (including special file bits) is initialized from mode. (The protection part of the mode is modified by the process's mode mask (see umask(2))). The first block pointer of the i-node is initialized from dev and is used to specify which device the special file refers to.

If mode indicates a block or character special file, dev is a configuration dependent specification of a character or block I/O device. If mode does not indicate a block special or character special device, dev is ignored.

Mknod may be invoked only by the super-user when creating block or character devices, but named pipes can be created by anyone.

RETURN VALUE
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 mode will be unchanged if:

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

[EINVAL]
    The pathname contains a character with the high-order bit set.

[ENAMETOOLONG]
    A component of a pathname exceeded 255 characters, or an entire path name exceeded 1023 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 super-user.

[EPERM]
    The pathname contains a character with the high-order bit set.

[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.

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