ulimit(3) - Linux man page

Name

ulimit - get and set user limits

Synopsis

#include <ulimit.h>

long ulimit(int cmd, long newlimit);

Description

Warning: This routine is obsolete. Use getrlimit(2), setrlimit(2), and sysconf(3) instead. For the shell command ulimit(), see bash(1).

The ulimit() call will get or set some limit for the calling process. The cmd argument can have one of the following values.

UL_GETFSIZE
Return the limit on the size of a file, in units of 512 bytes.
UL_SETFSIZE
Set the limit on the size of a file.
  • (Not implemented for Linux.) Return the maximum possible address of the data segment.
  • (Implemented but no symbolic constant provided.) Return the maximum number of files that the calling process can open.

  • Return Value

    On success, ulimit() returns a nonnegative value. On error, -1 is returned, and errno is set appropriately.

    Errors

    EPERM
    A unprivileged process tried to increase a limit.

    Conforming to

    SVr4, POSIX.1-2001. POSIX.1-2008 marks ulimit() as obsolete.

    See Also

    bash(1), getrlimit(2), setrlimit(2), sysconf(3)

    Referenced By

    byobu(1), syscalls(2), unimplemented(2)