Tribblix: manual page: limits.h.3head

LIMITS.H(3HEAD) Headers LIMITS.H(3HEAD)

NAME

limits.h, limits - implementation-defined constants

SYNOPSIS

#include <limits.h>

DESCRIPTION

The <limits.h> header defines various symbolic names. Different
categories of names are described below.

The names represent various limits on resources that the
implementation imposes on applications. Symbolic constant names
beginning with _POSIX can be found in unistd.h(3HEAD).

Applications should not assume any particular value for a limit. An
application wishing to avail itself of the full amount of a resource
available on an implementation can make use of the value given in
limits.h on that particular implementation by using the symbolic
names listed below. Many of the listed limits are not invariant, and
at runtime, the value of the limit might differ from those given in
this header, for the following reasons:

o The limit is pathname-dependent.

o The limit differs between the compile and runtime
machines.

For these reasons, an application can use the fpathconf(2),
pathconf(2), and sysconf(3C) functions to determine the actual value
of a limit at runtime.

Runtime Invariant Values (Possibly Indeterminate)
AIO_LISTIO_MAX

Maximum number of I/O operations in a single list I/O call
supported by the implementation.

AIO_MAX

Maximum number of outstanding asynchronous I/O operations
supported by the implementation.

AIO_PRIO_DELTA_MAX

The maximum amount by which a process can decrease its
asynchronous I/O priority level from its own scheduling priority.

ARG_MAX

Maximum length of argument to the exec(2) functions including
environment data.

ATEXIT_MAX

Maximum number of functions that can be registered with
atexit(3C).

CHILD_MAX

Maximum number of simultaneous processes per real user ID.

CLK_TCK

Number of clock ticks per second returned by the times(2)
function.

DELAYTIMER_MAX

Maximum number of timer expiration overruns.

HOST_NAME_MAX

Maximum length of a host name (not including the terminating
null) as returned from the gethostname(3C) function.

IOV_MAX

Maximum number of iovec structures that one process has available
for use with read(2) or write(2).

LOGIN_NAME_MAX

Maximum length of a login name.

MQ_OPEN_MAX

The maximum number of open message queue descriptors a process is
allowed to hold.

LOGIN_NAME_MAX

Maximum length of a login name.

MQ_OPEN_MAX

The maximum number of open message queue descriptors a process is
allowed to hold.

MQ_PRIO_MAX

The maximum number of message priorities supported by the
implementation.

OPEN_MAX

Maximum number of files that one process can have open at any one
time.

PAGESIZE

Size in bytes of a page.

PAGE_SIZE

Equivalent to PAGESIZE. If either PAGESIZE or PAGE_SIZE is
defined, the other is defined with the same value.

PASS_MAX

The maximum number of significant bytes in a password, not
including the terminating null.

PTHREAD_DESTRUCTOR_ITERATIONS

Maximum number of attempts made to destroy a thread's thread-
specific data values on thread exit.

PTHREAD_KEYS_MAX

Maximum number of data keys that can be created by a process.

PTHREAD_STACK_MIN

Minimum size in bytes of thread stack storage.

PTHREAD_THREADS_MAX

Maximum number of threads that can be created per process.

RE_DUP_MAX

The number of repeated occurrences of a BRE permitted by the
regexec(3C) and regcomp(3C) functions when using the interval
notation {\(m,n\}.

RTSIG_MAX

Maximum number of realtime signals reserved for application use
in this implementation.

SEM_NSEMS_MAX

Maximum number of semaphores that a process can have.

SEM_VALUE_MAX

The maximum value a semaphore can have.

SIGQUEUE_MAX

Maximum number of queued signals that a process can send and have
pending at the receiver(s) at any time.

SS_REPL_MAX

The maximum number of replenishment operations that may be
simultaneously pending for a particular sporadic server
scheduler.

STREAM_MAX

The number of streams that one process can have open at one time.
If defined, it has the same value as FOPEN_MAX.

SYMLOOP_MAX

Maximum number of symbolic links that can be reliably traversed
in the resolution of a pathname in the absence of a loop.

TIMER_MAX

Maximum number of timers per process supported by the
implementation.

TRACE_EVENT_NAME_MAX

Maximum length of the trace event name.

TRACE_NAME_MAX

Maximum length of the trace generation version string or of the
trace stream name.

TRACE_SYS_MAX

Maximum number of trace streams that may simultaneously exist in
the system.

TRACE_USER_EVENT_MAX

Maximum number of user trace event type identifiers that may
simultaneously exist in a traced process, including the
predefined user trace event POSIX_TRACE_UNNAMED_USER_EVENT.

TTY_NAME_MAX

Maximum length of terminal device name.

TZNAME_MAX

Maximum number of bytes supported for the name of a timezone (not
of the TZ variable).

Pathname Variable Values

The values in the following list can be constants within an
implementation or can vary from one pathname to another. For example,
file systems or directories can have different characteristics. The
value supported for a specific pathname is provided by the
pathconf(2) function.

FILESIZEBITS
Minimum number of bits needed to
represent, as a signed integer value, the
maximum size of a regular file allowed in
the specified directory.

LINK_MAX
Maximum number of links to a single file.

MAX_CANON
Maximum number of bytes in a terminal
canonical input line.

MAX_INPUT
Minimum number of bytes for which space
is available in a terminal input queue;
therefore, the maximum number of bytes a
conforming application may require to be
typed as input before reading them.

NAME_MAX
Maximum number of bytes in a filename
(not including terminating null).

PATH_MAX
Maximum number of bytes in a pathname,
including the terminating null character.

PIPE_BUF
Maximum number of bytes that is
guaranteed to be atomic when writing to a
pipe.

POSIX_ALLOC_SIZE_MIN
Minimum number of bytes of storage
actually allocated for any portion of a
file.

POSIX_REC_INCR_XFER_SIZE
Recommended increment for file transfer
sizes between the POSIX_REC_MIN_XFER_SIZE
and POSIX_REC_MAX_XFER_SIZE values.

POSIX_REC_MAX_XFER_SIZE
Maximum recommended file transfer size.

POSIX_REC_MIN_XFER_SIZE
Minimum recommended file transfer size.

POSIX_REC_XFER_ALIGN
Recommended file transfer buffer
alignment.

SYMLINK_MAX
Maximum number of bytes in a symbolic
link.

Runtime Increasable Values

The magnitude limitations in the following list are fixed by specific
implementations. An application should assume that the value supplied
by <limits.h> in a specific implementation is the minimum that
pertains whenever the application is run under that implementation. A
specific instance of a specific implementation can increase the value
relative to that supplied by <limits.h> for that implementation. The
actual value supported by a specific instance is provided by the
sysconf(3C) function.

BC_BASE_MAX
Maximum obase values allowed by the bc(1)
utility.

BC_DIM_MAX
Maximum number of elements permitted in an
array by the bc utility.

BC_SCALE_MAX
Maximum scale value allowed by the bc utility.

BC_STRING_MAX
Maximum length of a string constant accepted by
the bc utility.

CHARCLASS_NAME_MAX
Maximum number of bytes in a character class
name.

COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX
Maximum number of weights that can be assigned
to an entry of the LC_COLLATE order keyword in
the locale definition file.

EXPR_NEST_MAX
Maximum number of expressions that can be
nested within parentheses by the expr(1)
utility.

EXPR_NEST_MAX
Maximum number of expressions that can be
nested within parentheses by the expr utility.

LINE_MAX
Unless otherwise noted, the maximum length, in
bytes, of a utility's input line (either
standard input or another file), when the
utility is described as processing text files.
The length includes room for the trailing
<newline>.

NGROUPS_MAX
Maximum number of simultaneous supplementary
group IDs per process.

RE_DUP_MAX
Maximum number of repeated occurrences of a
regular expression permitted when using the
interval notation \{m,n\}.

Maximum Values

The symbolic constants in the following list are symbolic names for
the most restrictive value for certain features on an implementation
supporting the POSIX Timers option.

_POSIX_CLOCKRES_MIN
The resolution of the CLOCK_REALTIME clock, in
nanoseconds.

Minimum Values

The symbolic constants in the following list are symbolic names for
the most restrictive value for certain features on an implementation
conforming to various POSIX and Single Unix Specification
requirements. See standards(7).

_POSIX_AIO_LISTIO_MAX

The number of I/O operations that can be specified in a list I/O
call.

_POSIX_AIO_MAX

The number of outstanding asynchronous I/O operations.

_POSIX_ARG_MAX

Maximum length of argument to the exec(2) functions including
environment data.

_POSIX_CHILD_MAX

Maximum number of simultaneous processes per real user ID.

_POSIX_DELAYTIMER_MAX

The number of timer expiration overruns.

_POSIX_HOST_NAME_MAX

Maximum length of a host name (not including the terminating
null) as returned from the gethostname(3C) function.

_POSIX_LINK_MAX

Maximum number of links to a single file.

_POSIX_LOGIN_NAME_MAX

The size of the storage required for a login name, in bytes,
including the terminating null.

_POSIX_MAX_CANON

Maximum number of bytes in a terminal canonical input queue.

_POSIX_MAX_INPUT

Maximum number of bytes allowed in a terminal input queue.

_POSIX_MQ_OPEN_MAX

The number of message queues that can be open for a single
process.

_POSIX_MQ_PRIO_MAX

The maximum number of message priorities supported by the
implementation.

_POSIX_NAME_MAX

Maximum number of bytes in a filename (not including terminating
null).

_POSIX_NGROUPS_MAX

Maximum number of simultaneous supplementary group IDs per
process.

_POSIX_OPEN_MAX

Maximum number of files that one process can have open at any one
time.

_POSIX_PATH_MAX

Maximum number of bytes in a pathname.

_POSIX_PIPE_BUF

Maximum number of bytes that is guaranteed to be atomic when
writing to a pipe.

_POSIX_RE_DUP_MAX

The number of repeated occurrences of a BRE permitted by the
regexec() and regcomp() functions when using the interval
notation {\(m,n\}

_POSIX_RTSIG_MAX

The number of realtime signal numbers reserved for application
use.

_POSIX_SEM_NSEMS_MAX

The number of semaphores that a process can have.

_POSIX_SEM_VALUE_MAX

The maximum value a semaphore can have.

_POSIX_SIGQUEUE_MAX

The number of queued signals that a process can send and have
pending at the receiver(s) at any time.

_POSIX_SSIZE_MAX

The value that can be stored in an object of type ssize_t.

_POSIX_STREAM_MAX

The number of streams that one process can have open at one time.

_POSIX_SS_REPL_MAX

The number of replenishment operations that can be simultaneously
pending for a particular sporadic server scheduler.

_POSIX_SYMLINK_MAX

The number of bytes in a symbolic link.

_POSIX_SYMLOOP_MAX

The number of symbolic links that can be traversed in the
resolution of a pathname in the absence of a loop.

_POSIX_THREAD_DESTRUCTOR_ITERATIONS

The number of attempts made to destroy a thread's thread-specific
data values on thread exit.

_POSIX_THREAD_KEYS_MAX

The number of data keys per process.

_POSIX_THREAD_THREADS_MAX

The number of threads per process.

_POSIX_TIMER_MAX

The per-process number of timers.

_POSIX_TRACE_EVENT_NAME_MAX

The length in bytes of a trace event name.

_POSIX_TRACE_NAME_MAX

The length in bytes of a trace generation version string or a
trace stream name.

_POSIX_TRACE_SYS_MAX

The number of trace streams that can simultaneously exist in the
system.

_POSIX_TRACE_USER_EVENT_MAX

The number of user trace event type identifiers that may
simultaneously exist in a traced process, including the
predefined user trace event POSIX_TRACE_UNNAMED_USER_EVENT.

_POSIX_TTY_NAME_MAX

The size of the storage required for a terminal device name, in
bytes, including the terminating null.

_POSIX_TZNAME_MAX

Maximum number of bytes supported for the name of a timezone (not
of the TZ variable).

_POSIX2_BC_BASE_MAX

Maximum obase values allowed by the bc utility.

_POSIX2_BC_DIM_MAX

Maximum number of elements permitted in an array by the bc
utility.

_POSIX2_BC_SCALE_MAX

Maximum scale value allowed by the bc utility.

_POSIX2_BC_STRING_MAX

Maximum length of a string constant accepted by the bc utility.

_POSIX2_CHARCLASS_NAME_MAX

Maximum number of bytes in a character class name.

_POSIX2_COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX

Maximum number of weights that can be assigned to an entry of the
LC_COLLATE order keyword in the locale definition file.

_POSIX2_EXPR_NEST_MAX

Maximum number of expressions that can be nested within
parentheses by the expr utility.

_POSIX2_LINE_MAX

Unless otherwise noted, the maximum length, in bytes, of a
utility's input line (either standard input or another file),
when the utility is described as processing text files. The
length includes room for the trailing <newline>.

_POSIX2_RE_DUP_MAX

Maximum number of repeated occurrences of a regular expression
permitted when using the interval notation \{m,n\}.

_XOPEN_IOV_MAX

Maximum number of iovec structures that one process has available
for use with read(2) or write(2).

_XOPEN_NAME_MAX

Maximum number of bytes in a filename (not including the
terminating null).

_XOPEN_PATH_MAX

Maximum number of bytes in a pathname.

Numerical Limits

The values in the following lists shall be defined in <limits.h> and
are constant expressions suitable for use in #if preprocessing
directives. Moreover, except for CHAR_BIT, DBL_DIG, DBL_MAX,
FLT_DIG, FLT_MAX, LONG_BIT, WORD_BIT, and MB_LEN_MAX, the symbolic
names are defined as expressions of the correct type.

If the value of an object of type char is treated as a signed integer
when used in an expression, the value of CHAR_MIN is the same as that
of SCHAR_MIN and the value of CHAR_MAX is the same as that of
SCHAR_MAX. Otherwise, the value of CHAR_MIN is 0 and the value of
CHAR_MAX is the same as that of UCHAR_MAX.

CHAR_BIT
Number of bits in a type char.

CHAR_MAX
Maximum value of type char.

CHAR_MIN
Minimum value of type char.

DBL_DIG
Digits of precision of type double.

DBL_MAX
Maximum decimal value of a double.

DBL_MIN
Minimum decimal value of a double.

FLT_DIG
Digits of precision of type float.

FLT_MAX
Maximum decimal value of a float.

FLT_MIN
Minimum decimal value of a float.

INT_MIN
Minimum value of type int.

INT_MAX
Maximum value of an int.

LLONG_MIN
Minimum value of type long long.

LLONG_MAX
Maximum value of type long long.

LONG_BIT
Number of bits in a long.

LONG_MIN
Minimum value of type long.

LONG_MAX
Maximum value of a long.

MB_LEN_MAX
Maximum number of bytes in a character, for any
supported locale.

SCHAR_MIN
Minimum value of type signed char.

SCHAR_MAX
Maximum value of type signed char.

SHRT_MIN
Minimum value of type short.

SHRT_MAX
Maximum value of type short.

SSIZE_MAX
Maximum value of an object of type ssize_t.

TMP_MAX
Minimum number of unique filename generated by
tmpnam(3C). Maximum number of times an application can
call tmpnam() reliably.

UCHAR_MAX
Maximum value of type unsigned char.

UINT_MAX
Maximum value of type unsigned.

ULLONG_MAX
Maximum value of type unsigned long long.

ULONG_MAX
Maximum value of type unsigned long.

USHRT_MAX
Maximum value for a type unsigned short.

WORD_BIT
Number of bits in a word or type int.

Other Invariant Values

The following constants are defined in <limits.h>.

CHARCLASS_NAME_MAX
Maximum number of bytes in a character class
name.

LOGNAME_MAX
The maximum number of bytes supported in a
user's login name.

NL_ARGMAX
Maximum value of digit in calls to the
printf(3C) and scanf(3C) functions.

NL_LANGMAX
Maximum number of bytes in a LANG name.

NL_MSGMAX
Maximum message number.

NL_NMAX
Maximum number of bytes in an N-to-1 collation
mapping.

NL_SETMAX
Maximum set number.

NL_TEXTMAX
Maximum number of bytes in a message string.

NZERO
Default process priority.