usr.bin/lockf/lockf.1

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.\" $FreeBSD$
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.Dd July 7, 1998
.Os
.Dt LOCKF 1
.Sh NAME
.Nm lockf
.Nd execute a command while holding a file lock
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm
.Op Fl ks
.Op Fl t Ar seconds
.Ar file
.Ar command
.Op Ar arguments
.Sh DESCRIPTION
The
.Nm
utility acquires an exclusive lock on a
.Ar file ,
creating it if necessary,
.Bf Em
and removing the file on exit unless explicitly told not to.
.Ef
While holding the lock, it executes a
.Ar command
with optional
.Ar arguments .
After the
.Ar command
completes,
.Nm
releases the lock, and removes the
.Ar file
unless the
.Fl k
option is specified.
.Bx Ns -style
locking is used, as described in
.Xr flock 2 ;
the mere existence of the
.Ar file
is not considered to constitute a lock.
.Pp
If the
.Nm
utility is being used to facilitate concurrency between a number
of processes, it is recommended that the
.Fl k
option be used. This will guarantee lock ordering, as well as implement
a performance enhanced algorithm which minimizes CPU load associated
with concurrent unlink, drop and re-acquire activity. It should be noted
that if the
.Fl k
option is not used, then no guarantees around lock ordering can be made.
.Pp
The following options are supported:
.Bl -tag -width ".Fl t Ar seconds"
.It Fl k
Causes the lock file to be kept (not removed) after the command
completes.
.It Fl s
Causes
.Nm
to operate silently.
Failure to acquire the lock is indicated only in the exit status.
.It Fl t Ar seconds
Specifies a timeout for waiting for the lock.
By default,
.Nm
waits indefinitely to acquire the lock.
If a timeout is specified with this option,
.Nm
will wait at most the given number of
.Ar seconds
before giving up.
A timeout of 0 may be given, in which case
.Nm
will fail unless it can acquire the lock immediately.
When a lock times out,
.Ar command
is
.Em not
executed.
.El
.Pp
In no event will
.Nm
break a lock that is held by another process.
.Sh EXIT STATUS
If
.Nm
successfully acquires the lock, it returns the exit status produced by
.Ar command .
Otherwise, it returns one of the exit codes defined in
.Xr sysexits 3 ,
as follows:
.Bl -tag -width ".Dv EX_CANTCREAT"
.It Dv EX_TEMPFAIL
The specified lock file was already locked by another process.
.It Dv EX_CANTCREAT
The
.Nm
utility
was unable to create the lock file, e.g., because of insufficient access
privileges.
.It Dv EX_USAGE
There was an error on the
.Nm
command line.
.It Dv EX_OSERR
A system call (e.g.,
.Xr fork 2 )
failed unexpectedly.
.El
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr flock 2 ,
.Xr sysexits 3
.Sh HISTORY
A
.Nm
utility first appeared in
.Fx 2.2 .
.Sh AUTHORS
.An John Polstra Aq jdp@polstra.com