Interpretations

Answering questions that may arise related to the meaning of portions of an IEEE standard concerning specific applications.

IEEE Standards Interpretation for IEEE Std 1003.1™-1990 IEEE Standard for Information Technology--Portable Operating System Interfaces (POSIX®)

Copyright © 2001 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. 3 Park Avenue New York, New York 10016-5997 USA All Rights Reserved.

Interpretations are issued to explain and clarify the intent of a standard and do not constitute an alteration to the original standard. In addition, interpretations are not intended to supply consulting information. Permission is hereby granted to download and print one copy of this document. Individuals seeking permission to reproduce and/or distribute this document in its entirety or portions of this document must contact the IEEE Standards Department for the appropriate license. Use of the information contained in this document is at your own risk.

IEEE Standards Department Copyrights and Permissions 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, New Jersey 08855-1331, USA

Interpretation Request #44
Topic: creat() - share certain traits 341-344 Relevant Sections: 8.2.3 Classification: No Change required

Chapter 8 of POSIX.1 lists the functions required from the C Standard, required as part of POSIX.1 with the C Language Binding. Section 8.1 lines 25-29 specify the particular input/output functions required. Section 8.2 lines 193-198 state that functions from the C standard which "creat[e] a file shall do so as if they called the creat() function" with specified flags. Section 8.2.3 lines 341-345 describe that each function operating on a stream has "underlying functions" which "share certain traits with the underlying functions, but [do] not require that there be any relation between the implementations of the stream function and its underlying functions."

In lines 341-345, what does the term "share certain traits" mean? The descriptions of the individual functions list attributes in common with the underlying functions...is that what is intended?
(Jeremy Epstein)

Interpretation Response
The "underlying functions" are referenced only with regard to error detection (8.2.3.11). The phrase "share certain traits" imposes no additional normative requirements on its own.

Rationale for Interpretation
None.