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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!caip!topaz!ll-xn!nike!ucbcad!ucbvax!decvax!decuac!gouldsd!apartan
From: apartan@gouldsd.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.unix,net.unix-wizards
Subject: Re: Not a typewriter
Message-ID: <118@gouldsd.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 26-Jun-86 13:02:28 EDT
Article-I.D.: gouldsd.118
Posted: Thu Jun 26 13:02:28 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 28-Jun-86 03:22:05 EDT
References: <1683@homxb.UUCP> <542@codas.ATT.UUCP> <717@axis.UUCP> <37@mtxinu.UUCP>
Organization: Gould Inc, ASDD, Landover, MD
Lines: 18
Xref: watmath net.unix:8413 net.unix-wizards:18616
Summary: write(fd,buf,n) CAN return != n (for pipes)

In article <37@mtxinu.UUCP>, ed@mtxinu.UUCP (Ed Gould) writes:
> As long as we're reading the documentatin *carefully*, let's remember that
> any return from
> 
> 	write(fd, buf, n)
> 
> that is != n is an error.

This is NOT so!  If the fd refers to a pipe, and you are writing more bytes
than the pipe will hold, and you get an interrupt, then the write() will return
something that is >0, but is != n.

I ran into this problem porting some code to a Perkin-Elmer XELOS system (a
port of Sys V).

	--asp (Andrew S. Partan)
	-- seismo!sundc!gouldsd!asp
	-- decuac!gouldsd!asp