SYSCTL

NAME

SYNOPSIS

#include <unistd.h>


#include <linux/sysctl.h>

int _sysctl(struct __sysctl_args *args);

DESCRIPTION

The _sysctl() call reads and/or writes kernel parameters. For example, the hostname, or the maximum number of open files. The argument has the form

struct __sysctl_args {
    int    *name;    /* integer vector describing variable */
    int     nlen;    /* length of this vector */
    void   *oldval;  /* 0 or address where to store old value */
    size_t *oldlenp; /* available room for old value,
                        overwritten by actual size of old value */
    void   *newval;  /* 0 or address of new value */
    size_t  newlen;  /* size of new value */
};

This call does a search in a tree structure, possibly resembling a directory tree under /proc/sys, and if the requested item is found calls some appropriate routine to read or modify the value.  

RETURN VALUE

ERRORS

EFAULT

The invocation asked for the previous value by setting oldval non-NULL, but allowed zero room in oldlenp.

ENOTDIR

name was not found.

EPERM

No search permission for one of the encountered "directories", or no read permission where oldval was non-zero, or no write permission where newval was non-zero.

CONFORMING TO

NOTES

Or rather... don't call it: use of this system call has long been discouraged, and it is so unloved that it is likely to disappear in a future kernel version. Remove it from your programs now; use the /proc/sys interface instead.  

BUGS

Not all available objects are properly documented.

It is not yet possible to change operating system by writing to /proc/sys/kernel/ostype.  

EXAMPLE

#define _GNU_SOURCE
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/syscall.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <linux/sysctl.h>

int _sysctl(struct __sysctl_args *args );

#define OSNAMESZ 100

int
main(void)
{
    struct __sysctl_args args;
    char osname[OSNAMESZ];
    size_t osnamelth;
    int name[] = { CTL_KERN, KERN_OSTYPE };

    memset(&args, 0, sizeof(struct __sysctl_args));
    args.name = name;
    args.nlen = sizeof(name)/sizeof(name[0]);
    args.oldval = osname;
    args.oldlenp = &osnamelth;

    osnamelth = sizeof(osname);

    if (syscall(SYS__sysctl, &args) == -1) {
        perror("_sysctl");
        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }
    printf("This machine is running %*s\n", osnamelth, osname);
    exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
}

SEE ALSO

COLOPHON