READLINK

Section: Linux Programmer's Manual (2)
Updated: 2007-07-26
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NAME

readlink - read value of a symbolic link  

SYNOPSIS

#include <unistd.h>

ssize_t readlink(const char *path, char *buf, size_t bufsiz);

Feature Test Macro Requirements for glibc (see feature_test_macros(7)):

readlink(): _BSD_SOURCE || _XOPEN_SOURCE >= 500 || _POSIX_C_SOURCE >= 200112L  

DESCRIPTION

readlink() places the contents of the symbolic link path in the buffer buf, which has size bufsiz. readlink() does not append a null byte to buf. It will truncate the contents (to a length of bufsiz characters), in case the buffer is too small to hold all of the contents.  

RETURN VALUE

On success, readlink() returns the number of bytes placed in buf. On error, -1 is returned and errno is set to indicate the error.  

ERRORS

EACCES
Search permission is denied for a component of the path prefix. (See also path_resolution(7).)
EFAULT
buf extends outside the process's allocated address space.
EINVAL
bufsiz is not positive.
EINVAL
The named file is not a symbolic link.
EIO
An I/O error occurred while reading from the file system.
ELOOP
Too many symbolic links were encountered in translating the pathname.
ENAMETOOLONG
A pathname, or a component of a pathname, was too long.
ENOENT
The named file does not exist.
ENOMEM
Insufficient kernel memory was available.
ENOTDIR
A component of the path prefix is not a directory.
 

CONFORMING TO

4.4BSD (the readlink() function call appeared in 4.2BSD), POSIX.1-2001.  

NOTES

In versions of glibc up to and including glibc 2.4, the return type of readlink() was declared as int. Nowadays, the return type is declared as ssize_t, as (newly) required in POSIX.1-2001.  

SEE ALSO

lstat(2), readlinkat(2), stat(2), symlink(2), path_resolution(7), symlink(7)  

COLOPHON

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