remove(3)

1REMOVE(3)                             GNU                            REMOVE(3)
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NAME

6       remove - delete a name and possibly the file it refers to
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SYNOPSIS

9       #include <stdio.h>
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11       int remove(const char *pathname);
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DESCRIPTION

14       remove()  deletes  a  name  from the filesystem.  It calls unlink() for
15       files, and rmdir() for directories.
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17       If the removed name was the last link to a file and no  processes  have
18       the  file  open  the file is deleted and the space it was using is made
19       available for reuse.
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21       If the name was the last link to a file but any  processes  still  have
22       the  file  open  the  file will remain in existence until the last file
23       descriptor referring to it is closed.
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25       If the name referred to a symbolic link the link is removed.
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27       If the name referred to a socket, fifo or device the  name  for  it  is
28       removed  but  processes  which have the object open may continue to use
29       it.
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RETURN VALUE

32       On success, zero is returned.  On error, -1 is returned, and  errno  is
33       set appropriately.
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ERRORS

36       The errors that occur are those for unlink(2) and rmdir(2).
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CONFORMING TO

39       C89, C99, 4.3BSD, POSIX.1-2001.
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BUGS

42       Infelicities  in  the  protocol underlying NFS can cause the unexpected
43       disappearance of files which are still being used.
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NOTE

46       Under libc4 and libc5, remove() was an alias for  unlink()  (and  hence
47       would not remove directories).
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