1FSYNC(2)                   Linux Programmer's Manual                  FSYNC(2)
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NAME

6       fsync,  fdatasync  -  synchronize  a  file's in-core state with storage
7       device
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SYNOPSIS

10       #include <unistd.h>
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12       int fsync(int fd);
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14       int fdatasync(int fd);
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16   Feature Test Macro Requirements for glibc (see feature_test_macros(7)):
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18       fsync(): _BSD_SOURCE || _XOPEN_SOURCE
19                || /* since glibc 2.8: */ _POSIX_C_SOURCE >= 200112L
20       fdatasync(): _POSIX_C_SOURCE >= 199309L || _XOPEN_SOURCE >= 500
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DESCRIPTION

23       fsync() transfers ("flushes") all modified in-core data of (i.e., modi‐
24       fied  buffer cache pages for) the file referred to by the file descrip‐
25       tor fd to the disk device (or other  permanent  storage  device)  where
26       that  file  resides.  The call blocks until the device reports that the
27       transfer has completed.  It also flushes metadata  information  associ‐
28       ated with the file (see stat(2)).
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30       Calling  fsync()  does  not  necessarily  ensure  that the entry in the
31       directory containing the file has  also  reached  disk.   For  that  an
32       explicit fsync() on a file descriptor for the directory is also needed.
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34       fdatasync() is similar to fsync(), but does not flush modified metadata
35       unless that metadata is needed in order  to  allow  a  subsequent  data
36       retrieval to be correctly handled.  For example, changes to st_atime or
37       st_mtime (respectively, time of last access and time of last  modifica‐
38       tion;  see stat(2)) do not require flushing because they are not neces‐
39       sary for a subsequent data read to be handled correctly.  On the  other
40       hand, a change to the file size (st_size, as made by say ftruncate(2)),
41       would require a metadata flush.
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43       The aim of fdatasync() is to reduce disk activity for applications that
44       do not require all metadata to be synchronized with the disk.
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RETURN VALUE

47       On  success, these system calls return zero.  On error, -1 is returned,
48       and errno is set appropriately.
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ERRORS

51       EBADF  fd is not a valid file descriptor open for writing.
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53       EIO    An error occurred during synchronization.
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55       EROFS, EINVAL
56              fd is bound to a special file which does  not  support  synchro‐
57              nization.
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CONFORMING TO

60       4.3BSD, POSIX.1-2001.
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AVAILABILITY

63       On  POSIX  systems  on  which fdatasync() is available, _POSIX_SYNCHRO‐
64       NIZED_IO is defined in <unistd.h> to a value greater than 0.  (See also
65       sysconf(3).)
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NOTES

68       Applications that access databases or log files often write a tiny data
69       fragment (e.g., one line in a log file) and then call  fsync()  immedi‐
70       ately  in order to ensure that the written data is physically stored on
71       the harddisk.  Unfortunately, fsync() will always  initiate  two  write
72       operations:  one for the newly written data and another one in order to
73       update the modification time stored in the inode.  If the  modification
74       time  is  not a part of the transaction concept fdatasync() can be used
75       to avoid unnecessary inode disk write operations.
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77       If the underlying hard disk has write caching enabled,  then  the  data
78       may  not  really  be  on  permanent  storage when fsync() / fdatasync()
79       return.
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81       When an ext2 file system is mounted with  the  sync  option,  directory
82       entries are also implicitly synced by fsync().
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84       On  kernels  before  2.4,  fsync() on big files can be inefficient.  An
85       alternative might be to use the O_SYNC flag to open(2).
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87       In Linux 2.2 and earlier, fdatasync() is equivalent to fsync(), and  so
88       has no performance advantage.
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SEE ALSO

91       bdflush(2),  open(2), sync(2), sync_file_range(2), hdparm(8), mount(8),
92       sync(8), update(8)
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COLOPHON

95       This page is part of release 3.22 of the Linux  man-pages  project.   A
96       description  of  the project, and information about reporting bugs, can
97       be found at http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.
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101Linux                             2008-11-07                          FSYNC(2)
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