1ABORT(P) POSIX Programmer's Manual ABORT(P)
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6 abort - generate an abnormal process abort
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9 #include <stdlib.h>
10 void abort(void);
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15 The abort() function shall cause abnormal process termination to occur,
16 unless the signal SIGABRT is being caught and the signal handler does
17 not return.
18 The abnormal termination processing shall include the default actions
20 defined for SIGABRT and may include an attempt to effect fclose() on
21 all open streams.
22 The SIGABRT signal shall be sent to the calling process as if by means
24 of raise() with the argument SIGABRT.
25 The status made available to wait() or waitpid() by abort() shall be
27 that of a process terminated by the SIGABRT signal. The abort() func‐
28 tion shall override blocking or ignoring the SIGABRT signal.
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31 The abort() function shall not return.
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34 No errors are defined.
35 The following sections are informative.
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39 None.
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42 Catching the signal is intended to provide the application writer with
43 a portable means to abort processing, free from possible interference
44 from any implementation-defined functions.
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47 The ISO/IEC 9899:1999 standard requires the abort() function to be
48 async-signal-safe. Since IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 defers to the ISO C stan‐
49 dard, this required a change to the DESCRIPTION from ``shall include
50 the effect of fclose()'' to ``may include an attempt to effect
51 fclose().''
52 The revised wording permits some backwards-compatibility and avoids a
54 potential deadlock situation.
55 The Open Group Base Resolution bwg2002-003 is applied, removing the
57 following XSI shaded paragraph from the DESCRIPTION:
58 ``On XSI-conformant systems, in addition the abnormal termination pro‐
60 cessing shall include the effect of fclose() on message catalog
61 descriptors.''
62 There were several reasons to remove this paragraph:
64 * No special processing of open message catalogs needs to be performed
66 prior to abnormal process termination.
67 * The main reason to specifically mention that abort() includes the
69 effect of fclose() on open streams is to flush output queued on the
70 stream. Message catalogs in this context are read-only and, there‐
71 fore, do not need to be flushed.
72 * The effect of fclose() on a message catalog descriptor is unspeci‐
74 fied. Message catalog descriptors are allowed, but not required to
75 be implemented using a file descriptor, but there is no mention in
76 IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 of a message catalog descriptor using a stan‐
77 dard I/O stream FILE object as would be expected by fclose().
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80 None.
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83 exit() , kill() , raise() , signal() , wait() , waitpid() , the Base
84 Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, <stdlib.h>
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87 Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form
88 from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technology
89 -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
90 Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003 by the Institute of
91 Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the
92 event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and
93 The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard
94 is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online
95 at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .
96IEEE/The Open Group 2003 ABORT(P)