AIX Version 4.3 Base Operating System and Extensions Technical Reference, Volume 2

About This Book

This book provides information on Base Operating System and Extensions Technical Reference, Volumes 1 and 2. Topics covered provide information on application programming interfaces to the Advanced Interactive Executive Operating System (referred to in this text as AIX).

These two books are part of the six-volume technical reference set, AIX Version 4.3 Technical Reference, SBOF-1878, which provides information on system calls, kernel extension calls, and subroutines in the following volumes:

Base Operating System and Extensions, Volumes 1 and 2 provide information on system calls, subroutines, functions, macros, and statements associated with AIX base operating system runtime services.
Communications, Volumes 1 and 2 provide information on entry points, functions, system calls, subroutines, and operations related to communications services.
Kernel and Subsystems, Volumes 1 and 2 provide information about kernel services, device driver operations, file system operations, subroutines, the configuration subsystem, the communications subsystem, the low function terminal (LFT) subsystem, the logical volume subsystem, the M-audio capture and playback adapter subsystem, the printer subsystem, the SCSI subsystem, and the serial DASD subsystem.

Who Should Use This Book

This book is intended for experienced C programmers. To use the book effectively, you should be familiar with AIX or UNIX System V commands, system calls, subroutines, file formats, and special files.

Before You Begin

Before you begin the tasks discussed in this book, you should see AIX Version 4.3 System Management Guide: Operating System and Devices and AIX Version 4.3 System Management Guide: Communications and Networks for more information.

How to Use This Book

Overview of Contents

This book contains the following chapters and appendixes:

Base Operating System and Extension Technical Reference, Volumes 1 and 2 contain alphabetically arranged system calls (called subroutines), subroutines, functions, macros, and statements on Base Operating System Runtime (BOS) Services.
Volume 2 also contains alphabetically arranged Fortran Basic Linear Algebra Subroutines (BLAS).

Highlighting

The following highlighting conventions are used in this book:

Bold	Identifies commands, subroutines, keywords, files, structures, directories, and other items whose names are predefined by the system. Also identifies graphical objects such as buttons, labels, and icons that the user selects.
Italics	Identifies parameters whose actual names or values are to be supplied by the user.
`Monospace`	Identifies examples of specific data values, examples of text similar to what you might see displayed, examples of portions of program code similar to what you might write as a programmer, messages from the system, or information you should actually type.

ISO 9000

ISO 9000 registered quality systems were used in the development and manufacturing of this product.

AIX 32-Bit Support for the X/Open UNIX95 Specification

Beginning with AIX Version 4.2, the operating system is designed to support the X/Open UNIX95 Specification for portability of UNIX-based operating systems. Many new interfaces, and some current ones, have been added or enhanced to meet this specification. Beginning with Version 4.2, AIX is even more open and portable for applications.

At the same time, compatibility with previous AIX releases is preserved. This is accomplished by the creation of a new environment variable, which can be used to set the system environment on a per-system, per-user, or per-process basis.

To determine the proper way to develop a UNIX95-portable application, you may need to refer to the X/Open UNIX95 Specification, which can be obtained on a CD-ROM by ordering the printed copy of AIX Version 4.3 Commands Reference, order number SBOF-1877, or by ordering Go Solo: How to Implement and Go Solo with the Single Unix Specification, order number SR28-5705, a book which includes the X/Open UNIX95 Specification on a CD-ROM.

AIX 32-Bit and 64-Bit Support for the UNIX98 Specification

Beginning with AIX Version 4.3, the operating system is designed to support the X/Open UNIX98 Specification for portability of UNIX-based operating systems. Many new interfaces, and some current ones, have been added or enhanced to meet this specification. Making AIX Version 4.3 even more open and portable for applications.

To determine the proper way to develop a UNIX98-portable application, you may need to refer to the X/Open UNIX98 Specification, which can be obtained on a CD-ROM by ordering the printed copy of AIX Version 4.3 Commands Reference, order number SBOF-1877, or by ordering Go Solo: How to Implement and Go Solo with the Single Unix Specification, order number SR28-5705, a book which includes the X/Open UNIX98 Specification on a CD-ROM.

Related Publications

The following books contain information about or related to application programming interfaces:

AIX Version 4.3 General Programming Concepts: Writing and Debugging Programs, Order Number SC23-4128.
AIX Version 4.3 Communications Programming Concepts, Order Number SC23-4124.
AIX Version 4.3 Kernel Extensions and Device Support Programming Concepts, Order Number SC23-4125.
AIX Version 4.3 Files Reference, Order Number SC23-4168.
AIX Version 4.3 Problem Solving Guide and Reference, Order Number SC23-4123.
POWERstation and POWERserver Hardware Technical Information-General Architectures, Order Number SA23-2643.

Ordering Publications

You can order publications from your sales representative or from your point of sale.

To order additional copies of this book, use the following order numbers:

AIX Version 4.3 Technical Reference: Base Operating System and Extensions Volume 1 Order Number SC23-4159.
AIX Version 4.3 Technical Reference: Base Operating System and Extensions Volume 2, Order Number SC23-4160.

Use AIX and Related Products Documentation Overview,order number SC23-2456, for information on related publications and how to obtain them.