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34 .\" @(#)syscall.2 8.1 (Berkeley) 6/16/93
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36 .Dd June 23, 2008
37 .Dt SYSCALL 2
38 .Os BSD 4
39 .Sh NAME
40 .Nm syscall
41 .Nd indirect system call
42 .Sh SYNOPSIS
43 .Fd #include <sys/syscall.h>
44 .Fd #include <unistd.h>
45 .Ft int
46 .Fn syscall "int number" "..."
47 .Sh DESCRIPTION
48 .Fn Syscall
49 performs the system call whose assembly language
50 interface has the specified
51 .Fa number
52 with the specified arguments.
53 Symbolic constants for system calls can be found in the header file
54 .Ao Pa sys/syscall.h Ac .
55 This function is useful for testing new system calls that
56 do not have entries in the C library.
57 .Sh RETURN VALUES
58 The return values are defined by the system call being invoked.
59 In general, a 0 return value indicates success.
60 A -1 return value indicates an error,
61 and an error code is stored in
62 .Va errno .
63 .Sh BUGS
64 There is no way to simulate system calls that have multiple return values
65 such as
66 .Xr pipe 2 .
67 .Sh HISTORY
68 The
69 .Fn syscall
70 function call appeared in
71 .Bx 4.0 .