1explain(1) General Commands Manual explain(1)
2
6 explain - explain system call error messages
7
9 explain [ option ... ] function [ argument ... ]
10 explain --version
12
14 The explain command is used to decode an error return read from an
15 strace(1) listing, or silimar. Because this is being deciphered in a
16 different process than the orginal, the results will be less accurate
17 than if the program itself were to use libexplain(3).
18 Functions
20 The functions understood include:
21 accept fildes addr addrlen
23 The accept(2) system call.
24 accept4 fildes [[ sock_addr sock_addr_size ] flags ]
26 The accept4(2) system call.
27 access pathname
29 The access(2) system call.
30 acct pathname
32 The acct(2) system call.
33 acl_from_text text
35 The acl_from_text(3) system call.
36 acl_get_fd fildes
38 The acl_get_fd(3) system call.
39 acl_get_file pathname type
41 The acl_get_file(3) system call.
42 acl_set_fd fildes acl
44 The acl_set_fd(3) system call.
45 acl_set_file pathname type acl
47 The acl_set_file(3) system call.
48 acl_to_text acl len_p
50 The acl_to_text(3) system call.
51 adjtime delta olddelta
53 The adjtime(2) system call.
54 adjtimex data
56 The adjtimex(2) system call.
57 asprintf
59 The asprintf(3) system call.
60 bind fildes addr sockaddr_size
62 The bind(2) system call.
63 calloc nmemb size
65 The calloc(3) system call.
66 chdir pathname
68 The chdir(2) system call.
69 chmod pathname permission‐mode
71 The chmod(2) system call.
72 chown pathname owner group
74 The chown(2) system call.
75 chroot pathname
77 The chroot(2) system call.
78 close fildes
80 The close(2) system call.
81 closedir dir
83 The closedir(3) system call.
84 connect fildes serv_addr serv_addr_size
86 The connect(2) system call.
87 creat pathname [ permission‐mode
89 The creat(2) system call.
90 dirfd dir
92 The dirfd(3) system call.
93 dup fildes
95 The dup(2) system call.
96 dup2 oldfd newfd
98 The dup2(2) system call.
99 endgrent
101 The endgrent(3) system call.
102 eventfd initval flags
104 The eventfd(2) system call.
105 execlp pathname arg...
107 The execlp(3) system call.
108 execv pathname argv
110 The execv(3) system call.
111 execve pathname arg...
113 The execve(2) system call.
114 execvp pathname arg...
116 The execvp(3) system call.
117 fchdir pathname
119 The fchdir(2) system call.
120 fchmod fildes mode
122 The fchmod(2) system call.
123 fchown fildes owner group
125 The fchown(2) system call.
126 fchownat dirfd pathname owner group flags
128 The fchownat(2) system call.
129 fclose fp
131 The fclose(3) system call.
132 fcntl fildes command [ arg ]
134 The fcntl(2) system call.
135 fdopen fd mode
137 The fdopen(3) system call.
138 fdopendir fildes
140 The fdopendir(3) system call.
141 feof fp The feof(3) system call.
143 ferror fp
145 The ferror(3) system call.
146 fflush fp
148 The fflush(3) system call.
149 fgetc fp
151 The fgetc(3) system call.
152 fgetpos fp pos
154 The fgetpos(3) system call.
155 fgets data data_size fp
157 The fgets(3) system call.
158 fileno fp
160 The fileno(3) system call.
161 flock fildes command
163 The flock(2) system call.
164 fork The fork(2) system call.
166 fpathconf fildes name
168 The fpathconf(3) system call.
169 fpurge fp
171 The fpurge(3) system call.
172 fread ptr size nmemb fp
174 The fread(3) system call.
175 fopen pathname mode
177 The fopen(2) system call. The pathname argument may need to be
178 quoted to insulate white space and punctuation from the shell.
179 The mode argument (a textual equivalent of the open system
180 call's flags argument). See fopen(3) for more information.
181 fputc c [ fp ]
183 The fputc(3) system call.
184 fputs s fp
186 The fputs(3) system call.
187 freopen pathname flags fp
189 The freopen(3) system call.
190 fseek fp offset whence
192 The fseek(3) system call.
193 fseeko fp offset whence
195 The fseeko(3) system call.
196 fsetpos fp pos
198 The fsetpos(3) system call.
199 fstat pathname
201 The fstat(2) system call.
202 fstatat fildes pathname data flags
204 The fstatat(2) system call.
205 fstatfs fildes data
207 The fstatfs(2) system call.
208 fstatvfs fildes data
210 The fstatvfs(2) system call.
211 fsync fildes
213 The fsync(2) system call.
214 ftell fp
216 The ftell(3) system call.
217 ftello fp
219 The ftello(3) system call.
220 ftime tp
222 The ftime(3) system call.
223 ftruncate fildes length
225 The ftruncate(2) system call.
226 futimens fildes data
228 The futimens(3) system call.
229 futimes fildes tv[0] data[1]
231 The futimes(3) system call.
232 futimesat fildes pathname data
234 The futimesat(2) system call.
235 getc fp The getc(3) system call.
237 getchar The getchar(3) system call.
239 getcwd buf size
241 The getcwd(2) system call.
242 getdomainname data data_size
244 The getdomainname(2) system call.
245 getgrent
247 The getgrent(3) system call.
248 getgrouplist user group groups ngroups
250 The getgrouplist(3) system call.
251 getgroups data_size data
253 The getgroups(2) system call.
254 gethostbyname name
256 The gethostbyname(3) system call.
257 gethostid
259 The gethostid(3) system call.
260 gethostname [ data data_size ]
262 The gethostname(2) system call.
263 getpeername fildes sock_addr sock_addr_size
265 The getpeername(2) system call.
266 getpgid pid
268 The getpgid(2) system call.
269 getpgrp pid
271 The getpgrp(2) system call.
272 getpriority which who
274 The getpriority(2) system call.
275 getresgid rgid egid sgid
277 The getresgid(2) system call.
278 getresuid ruid euid suid
280 The getresuid(2) system call.
281 getrlimit resource rlim
283 The getrlimit(2) system call.
284 getrusage who usage
286 The getrusage(2) system call.
287 getsockname fildes [ sock_addr [ sock_addr_size ]]
289 The getsockname(2) system call.
290 getsockopt fildes level name data data_size
292 The getsockopt(2) system call.
293 gettimeofday [ tv [ tz ] ]
295 The gettimeofday(2) system call.
296 getw fp The getw(3) system call.
298 iconv cd inbuf inbytesleft outbuf outbytesleft
300 The iconv(3) system call.
301 iconv_close cd
303 The iconv_close(3) system call.
304 iconv_open tocode fromcode
306 The iconv_open(3) system call.
307 ioctl fildes request data
309 The ioctl(2) system call.
310 kill pid sig
312 The kill(2) system call.
313 lchmod pathname mode
315 The lchmod(2) system call.
316 lchown pathname owner group
318 The lchown(2) system call.
319 lchownat fildes pathname uid gid
321 The lchownat(2) system call.
322 link oldpath newpath
324 The link(2) system call.
325 linkat old_fildes old_path new_fildes new_path flags
327 The linkat(2) system call.
328 listen fildes backlog
330 The listen(2) system call.
331 lseek fildes offset whence
333 The lseek(2) system call.
334 lstat pathname
336 The lstat(2) system call.
337 lutimes pathname data
339 The lutimes(3) system call.
340 malloc size
342 The malloc(3) system call.
343 mkdir pathname [ mode ]
345 The mkdir(2) system call.
346 mkdtemp pathname
348 The mkdtemp(3) system call.
349 mknod pathname mode dev
351 The mknod(2) system call.
352 mkostemp templat flags
354 The mkostemp(3) system call.
355 mkstemp templat
357 The mkstemp(3) system call.
358 mktemp pathname
360 The mktemp(3) system call.
361 mmap data data_size prot flags fildes offset
363 The mmap(2) system call.
364 mount source target file_systems_type flags data
366 The mount(2) system call.
367 munmap data data_size
369 The munmap(2) system call.
370 nanosleep req rem
372 The nanosleep(2) system call.
373 nice inc
375 The nice(2) system call.
376 open pathname flags [ mode ]
378 The open(2) system call. The pathname argument may need to be
379 quoted to insulate white space and punctuation from the shell.
380 The flags argument may be numeric or symbolic. The mode argu‐
381 ment may be numeric or symbolic.
382 openat fildes pathname flags mode
384 The openat(2) system call. The flags argument may be numeric
385 or symbolic. The mode argument may be numeric or symbolic.
386 opendir pathname
388 The opendir(3) system call.
389 pathconf pathname name
391 The pathconf(3) system call.
392 pclose fp
394 The pclose(3) system call.
395 pipe pipefd
397 The pipe(2) system call.
398 pipe2 fildes flags
400 The pipe2(2) system call.
401 poll fds nfds timeout
403 The poll(2) system call.
404 popen command flags
406 The popen(3) system call.
407 pread fildes data data_size offset
409 The pread(2) system call.
410 ptrace request pid addr data
412 The ptrace(2) system call.
413 putc c fp
415 The putc(3) system call.
416 putchar c
418 The putchar(3) system call.
419 putenv string
421 The putenv(3) system call.
422 puts s The puts(3) system call.
424 putw value fp
426 The putw(3) system call.
427 pwrite fildes data data_size offset
429 The pwrite(2) system call.
430 raise sig
432 The raise(3) system call.
433 read fildes data data‐size
435 The read(2) system call.
436 realloc ptr size
438 The realloc(3) system call.
439 realpath pathname resolved_pathname
441 The realpath(3) system call.
442 rename oldpath newpath
444 The rename(2) system call.
445 readv fildes iov ...
447 The readv(2) system call.
448 select nfds readfds writefds exceptfds timeout
450 The select(2) system call.
451 setbuf fp data
453 The setbuf(3) system call.
454 setbuffer fp data size
456 The setbuffer(3) system call.
457 setdomainname data data_size
459 The setdomainname(2) system call.
460 setenv name value overwrite
462 The setenv(3) system call.
463 setgid gid
465 The setgid(2) system call.
466 setgrent
468 The setgrent(3) system call.
469 setgroups data_size data
471 The setgroups(2) system call.
472 sethostname name [ name_size ]
474 The sethostname(2) system call.
475 setlinebuf fp
477 The setlinebuf(3) system call.
478 setpgid [ pid [ pgid ]]
480 The setpgid(2) system call.
481 setpgrp pid pgid
483 The setpgrp(2) system call.
484 setpriority which who prio
486 The setpriority(2) system call.
487 setregid rgid egid
489 The setregid(2) system call.
490 setreuid ruid euid
492 The setreuid(2) system call.
493 setresgid rgid egid sgid
495 The setresgid(2) system call.
496 setresuid ruid euid suid
498 The setresuid(2) system call.
499 setreuid ruid euid
501 The setreuid(2) system call.
502 setsid The setsid(2) system call.
504 setsockopt fildes level name data data_size
506 The setsockopt(2) system call.
507 settimeofday tv tz
509 The settimeofday(2) system call.
510 setuid uid
512 The setuid(2) system call.
513 setvbuf fp data mode size
515 The setvbuf(3) system call.
516 shmat shmid shmaddr shmflg
518 The shmat(2) system call.
519 shmctl shmid command data
521 The shmctl(2) system call.
522 signalfd fildes mask flags
524 The signalfd(2) system call.
525 sleep seconds
527 The sleep(3) system call.
528 socket domain type protocol
530 The socket(2) system call.
531 socketpair domain type protocol sv
533 The socketpair(2) system call.
534 stat pathname
536 The stat(2) system call.
537 statfs pathname data
539 The statfs(2) system call.
540 statvfs pathname data
542 The statvfs(2) system call.
543 stime t The stime(2) system call.
545 strcoll s1 s2
547 The strcoll(3) system call.
548 strdup data
550 The strdup(3) system call.
551 strerror
553 The error given will be printed out with all known detail.
554 strndup data data_size
556 The strndup(3) system call.
557 strtod nptr endptr
559 The strtod(3) system call.
560 strtof nptr endptr
562 The strtof(3) system call.
563 strtol nptr endptr base
565 The strtol(3) system call.
566 strtold nptr endptr
568 The strtold(3) system call.
569 strtoll nptr endptr base
571 The strtoll(3) system call.
572 strtoul nptr endptr base
574 The strtoul(3) system call.
575 strtoull nptr endptr base
577 The strtoull(3) system call.
578 symlink oldpath newpath
580 The symlink(2) system call.
581 system command
583 The system(3) system call.
584 tcdrain fildes
586 The tcdrain(3) system call.
587 tcflow fildes action
589 The tcflow(3) system call.
590 tcflush fildes selector
592 The tcflush(3) system call.
593 tcgetattr fildes data
595 The tcgetattr(3) system call.
596 tcsendbreak fildes duration
598 The tcsendbreak(3) system call.
599 tcsetattr fildes options data
601 The tcsetattr(3) system call.
602 telldir dir
604 The telldir(3) system call.
605 tempnam dir prefix
607 The tempnam(3) system call.
608 time t The time(2) system call.
610 timerfd_create clockid flags
612 The timerfd_create(2) system call.
613 tmpfile The tmpfile(3) system call.
615 tmpnam pathname
617 The tmpnam(3) system call.
618 truncate pathname size
620 The truncate(2) system call.
621 usleep usec
623 The usleep(3) system call.
624 uname data
626 The uname(2) system call.
627 ungetc c fp
629 The ungetc(3) system call.
630 unlink pathname
632 The unlink(2) system call.
633 unsetenv name
635 The unsetenv(3) system call.
636 ustat dev ubuf
638 The ustat(2) system call.
639 utime pathname [ times ]
641 The utime(2) system call.
642 utimens pathname [ data ]
644 The utimens(2) system call.
645 utimensat [ fildes ] pathname [ data [ flags ]]
647 The utimensat(2) system call.
648 utimes pathname data
650 The utimes(2) system call.
651 vasprintf data format ap
653 The vasprintf(3) system call.
654 vfork The vfork(2) system call.
656 wait status
658 The wait(2) system call.
659 wait3 status options rusage
661 The wait3(2) system call.
662 wait4 pid status options rusage
664 The wait4(2) system call.
665 waitpid pid status options
667 The waitpid(2) system call.
668 write fildes data data‐size
670 The write(2) system call.
671 writev fildes data data‐size
673 The writev(2) system call.
674 Do not include the perentheses used to make the call.
676
678 The explain command understands the following options:
679 -E The exit staus, success or fail, will be printed immediately
681 before the access command terminates.
682 -e number
684 The value of errno as a number (e.g. 2), or as a symbol (e.g.
685 ENOENT), or as the text of its meaning (e.g. No such file or
686 directory). You will need quotes to insulate spaces and punc‐
687 tuation from the shell.
688 -V Print the version of the explain executing.
690
692 The explain command exits with status 1 on any error. The explain com‐
693 mand only exits with status 0 if there are no errors.
694
696 explain version 1.4
697 Copyright (C) 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Peter Miller
698
700 Written by Peter Miller <pmiller@opensource.org.au>
701 explain(1)