close()

close a file at the operating-system level

Synopsis:

#include <unistd.h>
int close( int filedes );

Description:

The close() function closes a file at the operating-system level. The filedes value is the file descriptor returned by a successful execution of one of the creat(), dup(), dup2(), fcntl(), open() or sopen() functions.

Returns:

0: Success
-1: An error occurred. errno is set to indicate the error.

Errors:

EBADF: The filedes argument is not a valid file descriptor.
EINTR: The close() function was interrupted by a signal.
EIO: An I/O error occurred while updating the directory information.
ENOSPC: A previous buffered write call has failed.

Examples:

#include <fcntl.h>
#include <unistd.h>

void main()
  {
    int filedes;

    filedes = open( "file", O_RDONLY );
    if( filedes != -1 ) {
      /* process file */
      close( filedes );
    }
  }

Classification:

POSIX 1003.1

Safety:
Interrupt handler	No
Signal handler	Yes
Thread	Yes

See also:

creat(), dup(), dup2(), errno, fcntl(), open(), sopen()