#include <unistd.h>
int unlink (Path) const char *Path;
The unlink subroutine removes the directory entry specified by the Path parameter and decreases the link count of the file referenced by the link. If Network File System (NFS) is installed on your system, this path can cross into another node.
Attention: Removing a link to a directory requires root user authority. Unlinking of directories is strongly discouraged since erroneous directory structures can result. The rmdir subroutine should be used to remove empty directories.
When all links to a file are removed and no process has the file open, all resources associated with the file are reclaimed, and the file is no longer accessible. If one or more processes have the file open when the last link is removed, the directory entry disappears. However, the removal of the file contents is postponed until all references to the file are closed.
If the parent directory of Path has the sticky attribute (described in the mode.h file), the calling process must have root user authority or an effective user ID equal to the owner ID of Path or the owner ID of the parent directory of Path.
The st_ctime and st_mtime fields of the parent directory are marked for update if the unlink subroutine is successful. In addition, if the file's link count is not 0, the st_ctime field of the file will be marked for update.
Applications should use the rmdir subroutine to remove a directory. If the Path parameter names a symbolic link, the link itself is removed.
| Path | Specifies the directory entry to be removed. |
Upon successful completion, a value of 0 is returned. Otherwise, a value of -1 is returned, the errno global variable is set to indicate the error, and the specified file is not changed.
The unlink subroutine fails and the named file is not unlinked if one of the following is true:
The unlink subroutine can be unsuccessful for other reasons. For a list of additional errors, see Appendix A, "Base Operating System Error Codes for Service That Require Path-Name Resolution"
If NFS is installed on the system, the unlink subroutine can also fail if the following is true:
| ETIMEDOUT | The connection timed out. |
This subroutine is part of Base Operating System (BOS) Runtime.
The close subroutine, link subroutine, open subroutine, remove subroutine, rmdir subroutine.
The rm command.
Files, Directories, and File Systems for Programmers in AIX Version 4.3 General Programming Concepts: Writing and Debugging Programs.