unlink - delete a name and possibly the file it refers to
SYNOPSIS
#include <unistd.h>
int unlink(const char * pathname );
DESCRIPTION
unlink deletes a name from the filesystem. If that name was the
last link to a file and no processes have the file open the file is
deleted and the space it was using is made available for reuse.
If the name was the last link to a file but any processes still have
the file open the file will remain in existence until the last file
descriptor referring to it is closed.
If the name referred to a symbolic link the link is removed.
If the name referred to a socket, fifo or device the name for it is
removed but processes which have the object open may continue to use
it.
RETURN VALUE
On success, zero is returned. On error, -1 is returned, and
errno is set appropriately.
ERRORS
EACCES
Write access to the directory containing
pathname is not allowed for the process's effective uid, or one of the
directories in
pathname did not allow search (execute) permission.
EPERM " or " EACCES
The directory containing
pathname has the sticky-bit
set and the process's effective uid is neither the uid of the file to
be deleted nor that of the directory containing it.
EPERM " (Linux only)"
The filesystem does not allow unlinking of files.
EPERM
The system does not allow unlinking of directories,
or unlinking of directories requires privileges that the
current process doesn't have.
(This is the POSIX prescribed error return.)
EISDIR
pathname refers to a directory.
(This is the non-POSIX value returned by Linux since 2.1.132.)
EBUSY " (not on Linux)"
The file
pathname cannot be unlinked because it is being used by the system
or another process and the implementation considers this an error.
EFAULT
pathname points outside your accessible address space.
ENAMETOOLONG
pathname " was too long."
ENOENT
A component in
pathname does not exist or is a dangling symbolic link, or
pathname is empty.
ENOTDIR
A component used as a directory in
pathname is not, in fact, a directory.
ENOMEM
Insufficient kernel memory was available.
EROFS
pathname refers to a file on a read-only filesystem.
ELOOP
Too many symbolic links were encountered in translating
pathname .