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SIGNAL(3B)							    SIGNAL(3B)


NAME    [Toc]    [Back]

     signal - simplified software signal facilities (4.3BSD)

SYNOPSIS    [Toc]    [Back]

     #include <signal.h>

     int (*signal(int sig, int (*func)(int, ...)))(int,	...);

     To	use any	of the BSD signal routines (kill(3B), killpg(3B),
     sigblock(3B), signal(3B), sigpause(3B), sigsetmask(3B), sigstack(2B),
     sigvec(3B)) you must either

     1)	#define	_BSD_SIGNALS or	_BSD_COMPAT before including <signal.h>, or

     2)	specify	one of them in the compile command or makefile:

	  cc -D_BSD_SIGNALS -o prog prog.c

DESCRIPTION    [Toc]    [Back]

     signal is a simplified interface to the more general sigvec(3B) facility.

     A signal is generated by some abnormal event, initiated by	a user at a
     terminal (quit, interrupt,	stop), by a program error (bus error, etc.),
     by	request	of another program (kill), or when a process is	stopped
     because it	wishes to access its control terminal while in the background
     (see termio(7)).  Signals are optionally generated	when a process resumes
     after being stopped, when the status of child processes changes, or when
     input is ready at the control terminal.  Most signals cause termination
     of	the receiving process if no action is taken; some signals instead
     cause the process receiving them to be stopped, or	are simply discarded
     if	the process has	not requested otherwise.  Except for the SIGKILL and
     SIGSTOP signals, the signal call allows signals either to be ignored or
     to	cause an interrupt to a	specified location.

     For a list	of valid signal	numbers	and a general description of the
     signal mechanism, please see signal(5).

     If	func is	SIG_DFL, the default action for	signal sig is reinstated.  If
     func is SIG_IGN the signal	is subsequently	ignored	and pending instances
     of	the signal are discarded.  Otherwise, when the signal occurs further
     occurrences of the	signal are automatically blocked and func is called.

     A return from the function	unblocks the handled signal and	continues the
     process at	the point it was interrupted.  Unlike the System V signal
     routine, the handler func remains installed after a signal	has been
     delivered.

     SIGKILL will immediately terminate	a process, regardless of its state.
     Processes which are stopped via job control (typically <Ctrl>-Z) will not
     act upon any delivered signals other than SIGKILL until the job is
     restarted.	 Processes which are blocked via a blockproc system call will



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SIGNAL(3B)							    SIGNAL(3B)



     unblock if	they receive a signal which is fatal (i.e., a non-job-control
     signal which they are NOT catching), but will still be stopped if the job
     of	which they are a part is stopped.  Only	upon restart will they die.
     Any non-fatal signals received by a blocked process will NOT cause	the
     process to	be unblocked (a	call to	unblockproc(2) or unblockprocall(2) is
     necessary).

     The value of signal is the	previous (or initial) value of func for	the
     particular	signal.

     After a fork(2) the child inherits	all handlers and signal	masks, but not
     the set of	pending	signals.

     The exec(2) routines reset	all caught signals to the default action;
     ignored signals remain ignored, the blocked signal	mask is	unchanged and
     pending signals remain pending.

RETURN VALUE    [Toc]    [Back]

     The previous action is returned on	a successful call.  Otherwise, -1 is
     returned and errno	is set to indicate the error.

ERRORS    [Toc]    [Back]

     signal will fail and no action will take place if one of the following
     occur:

     [EINVAL]	    Sig	is not a valid signal number.

     [EINVAL]	    An attempt is made to ignore or supply a handler for
		    SIGKILL or SIGSTOP.

     [EINVAL]	    An attempt is made to ignore SIGCONT (by default SIGCONT
		    is ignored).

SEE ALSO    [Toc]    [Back]

      
      
     kill(3B), sigvec(3B), sigblock(3B), sigsetmask(3B), sigpause(3B),
     setjmp(3),	blockproc(2), signal(5).

CAVEATS	(IRIX)
     4.2BSD attempts to	restart	system calls which are interrupted by signal
     receipt; 4.3BSD gives the programmer a choice of restart or failedreturn-with-error
 via the SV_INTERRUPT flag in sigvec or use of the
     siginterrupt library routine.  IRIX provides only the fail-with-error
     option.  The affected system calls	are read(2), write(2), open(2),
     ioctl(2), and wait(2).  Refer to the sigset(2) man	page for a more
     detailed description of the behavior.

     Because 4.3BSD and	System V both have signal system calls,	programs using
     4.3BSD's version are actually executing BSDsignal.	 This is transparent
     to	the programmer except when attempting to set breakpoints in dbx; the






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SIGNAL(3B)							    SIGNAL(3B)



     breakpoint	must be	set at BSDsignal.

WARNING	(IRIX)
     The 4.3BSD	and System V signal facilities have different semantics.
     Using both	facilities in the same program is strongly discouraged and
     will result in unpredictable behavior.


									PPPPaaaaggggeeee 3333
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