Name

unlink - delete a name and possibly the file it refers to

Library

libc.lib

Synopsis

  #include <unistd.h>
  int unlink (const char *path);

Return values

Upon successful completion, 0 shall be returned. Otherwise, -1 shall be returned and errno set to indicate the error.

Detailed description

The unlink system call removes the link named by path from its file system. It is expected to decrement the link count of the file which was referenced by the link, but since this is a simulated function and not supported by the platform, link count does not get modified. As the parent file to which a link is created itself is unaware about the link, a unlink on the parent file will close the file regardless of weather there existed any link to the file. The path argument may not be a directory.

Examples

/*
* Detailed description  : Example to unlink a link file
* Precondition : A link file by name "Link" should exist in
*                c: drive.
*/
#include <unistd.h>
#include <stdio.h>
int main(void)
{
    char rdbuff[25];
    if(unlink("C:\\Link"))
    {
         printf("unlink on link file failed");
    }
    printf("Unlink on link file succeeded");
}

         

Output

Unlink on link file succeeded.

         

Errors

The unlink succeeds unless:
[ENOENT]
  The named file does not exist.
[EINVAL]
  A relative path was encountered in translating path and is not supported by the platform.
[ENOENT]
  An empty path was encountered while translating the pathname.
[EACCESS]
  The file named by the path argument cannot be unlinked because it is being used by the system or another process and the implementation considers this an error.

See also

close, link, rmdir, symlink

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