NAME
readlink - read value of a symbolic link
SYNOPSIS
#include <unistd.h>
ssize_t readlink(const char *path, char *buf, size_t bufsiz);
Feature Test Macro Requirements for glibc (see feature_test_macros(7)):
readlink(): _BSD_SOURCE || _XOPEN_SOURCE >= 500 ||
_POSIX_C_SOURCE >= 200112L
DESCRIPTION
readlink() places the contents of the symbolic link path in the buffer
buf, which has size bufsiz. readlink() does not append a null byte to
buf. It will truncate the contents (to a length of bufsiz characters),
in case the buffer is too small to hold all of the contents.
RETURN VALUE
On success, readlink() returns the number of bytes placed in buf. On
error, -1 is returned and errno is set to indicate the error.
ERRORS
EACCES Search permission is denied for a component of the path prefix.
(See also path_resolution(7).)
EFAULT buf extends outside the process’s allocated address space.
EINVAL bufsiz is not positive.
EINVAL The named file is not a symbolic link.
EIO An I/O error occurred while reading from the file system.
ELOOP Too many symbolic links were encountered in translating the
pathname.
ENAMETOOLONG
A pathname, or a component of a pathname, was too long.
ENOENT The named file does not exist.
ENOMEM Insufficient kernel memory was available.
ENOTDIR
A component of the path prefix is not a directory.
CONFORMING TO
4.4BSD (the readlink() function call appeared in 4.2BSD), POSIX.1-2001.
NOTES
In versions of glibc up to and including glibc 2.4, the return type of
readlink() was declared as int. Nowadays, the return type is declared
as ssize_t, as (newly) required in POSIX.1-2001.
SEE ALSO
lstat(2), readlinkat(2), stat(2), symlink(2), path_resolution(7),
symlink(7)
COLOPHON
This page is part of release 3.24 of the Linux man-pages project. A
description of the project, and information about reporting bugs, can
be found at http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.