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Base Operating System and Extensions Technical Reference, Volume 1

msem_lock Subroutine

Purpose

Locks a semaphore.

Library

Standard C Library (libc.a)

Syntax

#include <sys/mman.h>
int msem_lock (SemCondition)
msemaphore *Sem;
int Condition;

Description

The msem_lock subroutine attempts to lock a binary semaphore.

If the semaphore is not currently locked, it is locked and the msem_lock subroutine completes successfully.

If the semaphore is currently locked, and the value of the Condition parameter is MSEM_IF_NOWAIT, the msem_lock subroutine returns with an error. If the semaphore is currently locked, and the value of the Condition parameter is 0, the msem_lock subroutine does not return until either the calling process is able to successfully lock the semaphore or an error condition occurs.

All calls to the msem_lock and msem_unlock subroutines by multiple processes sharing a common msemaphore structure behave as if the call were serialized.

If the msemaphore structure contains any value not resulting from a call to the msem_init subroutine, followed by a (possibly empty) sequence of calls to the msem_lock and msem_unlock subroutines, the results are undefined. The address of an msemaphore structure is significant. If the msemaphore structure contains any value copied from an msemaphore structure at a different address, the result is undefined.

Parameters

Sem Points to an msemaphore structure that specifies the semaphore to be locked.
Condition Determines whether the msem_lock subroutine waits for a currently locked semaphore to unlock.

Return Values

When successful, the msem_lock subroutine returns a value of 0. Otherwise, it returns a value of -1 and sets the errno global variable to indicate the error.

Error Codes

If the msem_lock subroutine is unsuccessful, the errno global variable is set to one of the following values:

EAGAIN Indicates a value of MSEM_IF_NOWAIT is specified for the Condition parameter and the semaphore is already locked.
EINVAL Indicates the Sem parameter points to an msemaphore structure specifying a semaphore that has been removed, or the Condition parameter is invalid.
EINTR Indicates the msem_lock subroutine was interrupted by a signal that was caught.

Implementation Specifics

The msem_lock subroutine is part of Base Operating System (BOS) Runtime.

Related Information

The msem_init subroutine, msem_remove subroutine, msem_unlock subroutine.

List of Memory Mapping Services and Understanding Memory Mapping in AIX Version 4.3 General Programming Concepts: Writing and Debugging Programs.


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