explain_unlink_or_die(3)

πŸ“¦
version 1.4.D001 Β· 2 versions
, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu resolute

okay bestie, so you found a page from the Library Functions Manual and it's literally about deleting files and not pretending everything's fine when it goes wrong. iconic behaviour, honestly. let's get into it πŸ¦‹


✨ NAME ✨

explain_unlink_or_die β€” delete a file and report errors πŸ’…


🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <libexplain/unlink.h>
void explain_unlink_or_die(const char *pathname);

πŸŽ€ DESCRIPTION πŸŽ€

okay so explain_unlink_or_die is the function you call when you want to hit up the unlink(2) system call, but you also want someone to explain what went wrong if it fails. and by someone, i mean it prints an explanation to stderr, grabbed straight from explain_unlink(3), and then the process just… ends it. by calling exit(EXIT_FAILURE). no notes, no coming back. πŸ’€

this function is meant to be used in a fashion similar to the following example:

explain_unlink_or_die(pathname);

pathname

  • the pathname, exactly as to be passed to the unlink(2) system call. like, exactly exactly. don't get cute with it. 🌈

Returns:

  • this function only returns on success. on failure, it prints an explanation and exits. that's the whole deal. main character energy, no second chances. πŸ‘‘

πŸ‘‘ SEE ALSO πŸ‘‘


libexplain version 1.4 Copyright (C) 2008 Peter Miller


ngl bestie, that's the whole page. go forth and delete files responsibly 🫢

and yeah, the page signs off as explain_unlink_or_die(3) at the bottom β€” that's just the man page header/footer doing its little dance, source libexplain 1.4, copyright 2008 Peter Miller. slay. periodt. πŸ’–βœ¨πŸŽ€

πŸ“¦ where this page comes from