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semget(2) System Calls Manual semget(2) NAME semget - Returns (and possibly creates) a semaphore ID SYNOPSIS #include <sys/sem.h> int semget( key_t key, int nsems, int semflg); Application developers may want to specify #include statements for <sys/types.h> and <sys/ipc.h> before the one for <sys/sem.h> if pro- grams are being developed for multiple platforms. The additional #in- clude statements are not required on DIGITAL UNIX systems or by ISO or X/Open standards, but may be required on other vendors' systems that conform to these standards. STANDARDS Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to industry stan- dards as follows: semget(): XPG4, XPG4-UNIX Refer to the standards(5) reference page for more information about in- dustry standards and associated tags. PARAMETERS Specifies the key that identifies the semaphore set. The value for the key parameter can be IPC_PRIVATE or a random number other than 0 (zero). To ensure that you receive a new, unused entry in the sema- phore table, specify IPC_PRIVATE as the value of key. Specifies the number of semaphores to create in the semaphore set. Specifies the creation flags. Possible values are as follows: If the key specified does not exist, the semget function creates a semaphore ID using the specified key. If the specified key exists, and IPC_EXCL is not set, the sema- phore id for the specified key is returned. If the specified key exists and IPC_EXCL is set, the semget function fails and returns an error. Specifies that you want exclusive access to the semaphore set. If the specified key already exists, the semget function fails and returns an error notification. DESCRIPTION The system defines sets of semaphores in a system-wide table, with each set being an entry in the table. The semget() function returns an ID that identifies the semaphore set's entry in the table. You determine which semaphore set's ID is returned by specifying the key parameter. The semget() function creates a semaphore set containing nsems sema- phores and returns its ID in the following situations: The key parame- ter is IPC_PRIVATE. The key parameter does not already exist as an en- try in the semaphore table and the IPC_CREAT flag is set. To create a semaphore set, the semget() function creates and initial- izes a structure of type semid_ds, which is defined as follows: struct semid_ds { struct ipc_perm sem_perm; struct sem *sem_base; ushort_t sem_nsems; time_t sem_otime; time_t sem_ctime; }; For a complete description of this structure, see semid_ds(4). The semget() function initializes the structure as follows: The sem_perm.cuid and sem_perm.uid fields are set equal to the effective user ID of the calling process. The sem_perm.cgid and sem_perm.gid fields are set equal to the effective group ID of the calling process. The low-order nine bits of sem_perm.mode are set equal to the low-order nine bits of semflg. The sem_nsems field is set equal to the value of nsems. The sem_otime field is set equal to zero (0) and the sem_ctime field is set equal to the current time. The individual semaphores within a set are implemented using the sem structure. (For more information about this structure, see the <sys/sem.h> header file.) The semget function does not initialize the sem structure associated with each semaphore in the set. The individ- ual semaphores are initialized when you call the semctl function with the SETVAL or SETALL command. RETURN VALUES Upon successful completion, the semget() function returns a semaphore identifier. If the semget function fails, it returns a value of -1 and sets errno to indicate the error. ERRORS The semget function sets errno to the specified values for the follow- ing conditions: A semaphore ID already exists for the key parameter, but operation permission as specified by the low-order nine bits of the semflg parameter was not granted. A semaphore ID already exists for the key parameter, but IPC_CREAT and IPC_EXCL were used for the semflg parameter. The value of the nsems parameter is less than or equal to 0 (zero) or greater than the system-defined limit. Or, a semaphore ID already exists for the key parameter, but the number of semaphores in the set is less than the nsems parameter, and the nsems parameter is not equal to 0 (zero). A semaphore ID does not exist for the key para- meter and IPC_CREAT was not set. An attempt to create a new semaphore ID exceeded the system-wide limit on the size of the semaphore table. RELATED INFORMATION Functions: semctl(2), semop(2), table(2), ftok(3) Files: semid_ds(4), sysconfigtab(4) Standards: standards(5) delim off semget(2)