explain_lchown_or_die(3)
π explain_lchown_or_die β Library Functions Manual π
okay bestie, so we're in explain_lchown_or_die(3) territory and honestly? it's giving "just do the thing and scream if it breaks" energy. let's get into it π«Ά
β¨ NAME β¨
explain_lchown_or_die β change ownership of a file and report errors
like... it changes ownership of a file, and if that doesn't work out, it does not keep it cute. it reports the errors. periodt. π
πΈ SYNOPSIS πΈ
#include <libexplain/lchown.h>
void explain_lchown_or_die(const char *pathname, int owner, int group);
π¦ DESCRIPTION π¦
so here's the tea. the explain_lchown_or_die function is literally just here to call the lchown(2) system call for you. that's the whole job. iconic of it.
but bestie β and this is the important part β on failure an explanation gets printed to stderr, and that explanation is obtained from explain_lchown(3). and then? the process terminates by calling exit(EXIT_FAILURE). no second chances, no "let me think about it". it's done. π
this function is intended to be used in a fashion similar to the following example:
explain_lchown_or_die(pathname, owner, group);
and now the args, one by one, no skipping, i would never π
pathnameβ the pathname, exactly as to be passed to thelchown(2)system call. like don't get creative with it, pass it the way it wants it. β¨ownerβ the owner, exactly as to be passed to thelchown(2)system call.groupβ the group, exactly as to be passed to thelchown(2)system call.
Returns:
this function only returns on success. on failure, it prints an explanation and exits. so if you ever see it come back to you? that means it worked. slay. π
lowkey a warning but also just facts: there is no failure return path here. it's success or it'sexit(EXIT_FAILURE). there is no in-between, no-1, nothing. main character energy but make it fatal. π
π SEE ALSO π
lchown(2)β change ownership of a fileexplain_lchown(3)β explainlchown(2)errorsexit(2)β terminate the calling process
π COPYRIGHT π
this whole situation is brought to you by libexplain version 1.4 and Copyright (C) 2008 Peter Miller.
okay so that's the page!! thanks for reading my lil manual rant bestie, this was explain_lchown_or_die(3) from the Library Functions Manual, shipped in libexplain version 1.4, Copyright (C) 2008 Peter Miller. mwah π go change some ownership, stay hydrated, and remember: on failure it prints an explanation and exits, so honestly? just let it cook. π§β¨
π¦ where this page comes from
- debian bookworm: libexplain-dev 1.4.D001-12+b1 Β· LGPL-3.0-or-later
- debian trixie: libexplain-dev 1.4.D001-16 Β· LGPL-3.0-or-later
- ubuntu jammy: libexplain-dev 1.4.D001-12 Β· LGPL-3.0-or-later
- ubuntu noble: libexplain-dev 1.4.D001-13 Β· LGPL-3.0-or-later
- ubuntu resolute: libexplain-dev 1.4.D001-16 Β· LGPL-3.0-or-later
- Copyright (C) 2008, 2009, 2011 Peter Miller
- π girlified by deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash on : a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms