NAME

explain - explain system call error messages

SYNOPSIS

explain [ option ... ] function [ argument ... ]

explain --version

DESCRIPTION

The explain command is used to decode an error return read from an strace(1) listing, or silimar. Because this is being deciphered in a different process than the orginal, the results will be less accurate than if the program itself were to use libexplain(3).

Functions

The functions understood include:

accept fildes addr addrlen: The accept(2) system call.
accept4 fildes [[ sock_addr sock_addr_size ] flags ]: The accept4(2) system call.
access pathname: The access(2) system call.
acct pathname: The acct(2) system call.
acl_from_text text: The acl_from_text(3) system call.
acl_get_fd fildes: The acl_get_fd(3) system call.
acl_get_file pathname type: The acl_get_file(3) system call.
acl_set_fd fildes acl: The acl_set_fd(3) system call.
acl_set_file pathname type acl: The acl_set_file(3) system call.
acl_to_text acl len_p: The acl_to_text(3) system call.
adjtime delta olddelta: The adjtime(2) system call.
adjtimex data: The adjtimex(2) system call.
asprintf: The asprintf(3) system call.
bind fildes addr sockaddr_size: The bind(2) system call.
calloc nmemb size: The calloc(3) system call.
chdir pathname: The chdir(2) system call.
chmod pathname permission‐mode: The chmod(2) system call.
chown pathname owner group: The chown(2) system call.
chroot pathname: The chroot(2) system call.
close fildes: The close(2) system call.
closedir dir: The closedir(3) system call.
connect fildes serv_addr serv_addr_size: The connect(2) system call.
creat pathname [ permission‐mode: The creat(2) system call.
dirfd dir: The dirfd(3) system call.
dup fildes: The dup(2) system call.
dup2 oldfd newfd: The dup2(2) system call.
endgrent: The endgrent(3) system call.
eventfd initval flags: The eventfd(2) system call.
execlp pathname arg...: The execlp(3) system call.
execv pathname argv: The execv(3) system call.
execve pathname arg...: The execve(2) system call.
execvp pathname arg...: The execvp(3) system call.
fchdir pathname: The fchdir(2) system call.
fchmod fildes mode: The fchmod(2) system call.
fchown fildes owner group: The fchown(2) system call.
fchownat dirfd pathname owner group flags: The fchownat(2) system call.
fclose fp: The fclose(3) system call.
fcntl fildes command [ arg ]: The fcntl(2) system call.
fdopen fd mode: The fdopen(3) system call.
fdopendir fildes: The fdopendir(3) system call.
feof fp: The feof(3) system call.
ferror fp: The ferror(3) system call.
fflush fp: The fflush(3) system call.
fgetc fp: The fgetc(3) system call.
fgetpos fp pos: The fgetpos(3) system call.
fgets data data_size fp: The fgets(3) system call.
fileno fp: The fileno(3) system call.
flock fildes command: The flock(2) system call.
fork: The fork(2) system call.
fpathconf fildes name: The fpathconf(3) system call.
fpurge fp: The fpurge(3) system call.
fread ptr size nmemb fp: The fread(3) system call.
fopen pathname mode: The fopen(2) system call. The pathname argument may need to be quoted to insulate white space and punctuation from the shell. The mode argument (a textual equivalent of the open system call's flags argument). See fopen(3) for more information.
fputc c [ fp ]: The fputc(3) system call.
fputs s fp: The fputs(3) system call.
freopen pathname flags fp: The freopen(3) system call.
fseek fp offset whence: The fseek(3) system call.
fseeko fp offset whence: The fseeko(3) system call.
fsetpos fp pos: The fsetpos(3) system call.
fstat pathname: The fstat(2) system call.
fstatat fildes pathname data flags: The fstatat(2) system call.
fstatfs fildes data: The fstatfs(2) system call.
fstatvfs fildes data: The fstatvfs(2) system call.
fsync fildes: The fsync(2) system call.
ftell fp: The ftell(3) system call.
ftello fp: The ftello(3) system call.
ftime tp: The ftime(3) system call.
ftruncate fildes length: The ftruncate(2) system call.
futimens fildes data: The futimens(3) system call.
futimes fildes tv[0] data[1]: The futimes(3) system call.
futimesat fildes pathname data: The futimesat(2) system call.
getc fp: The getc(3) system call.
getchar: The getchar(3) system call.
getcwd buf size: The getcwd(2) system call.
getdomainname data data_size: The getdomainname(2) system call.
getgrent: The getgrent(3) system call.
getgrouplist user group groups ngroups: The getgrouplist(3) system call.
getgroups data_size data: The getgroups(2) system call.
gethostbyname name: The gethostbyname(3) system call.
gethostid: The gethostid(3) system call.
gethostname [ data data_size ]: The gethostname(2) system call.
getpeername fildes sock_addr sock_addr_size: The getpeername(2) system call.
getpgid pid: The getpgid(2) system call.
getpgrp pid: The getpgrp(2) system call.
getpriority which who: The getpriority(2) system call.
getresgid rgid egid sgid: The getresgid(2) system call.
getresuid ruid euid suid: The getresuid(2) system call.
getrlimit resource rlim: The getrlimit(2) system call.
getrusage who usage: The getrusage(2) system call.
getsockname fildes [ sock_addr [ sock_addr_size ]]: The getsockname(2) system call.
getsockopt fildes level name data data_size: The getsockopt(2) system call.
gettimeofday [ tv [ tz ] ]: The gettimeofday(2) system call.
getw fp: The getw(3) system call.
iconv cd inbuf inbytesleft outbuf outbytesleft: The iconv(3) system call.
iconv_close cd: The iconv_close(3) system call.
iconv_open tocode fromcode: The iconv_open(3) system call.
ioctl fildes request data: The ioctl(2) system call.
kill pid sig: The kill(2) system call.
lchmod pathname mode: The lchmod(2) system call.
lchown pathname owner group: The lchown(2) system call.
lchownat fildes pathname uid gid: The lchownat(2) system call.
link oldpath newpath: The link(2) system call.
listen fildes backlog: The listen(2) system call.
lseek fildes offset whence: The lseek(2) system call.
lstat pathname: The lstat(2) system call.
lutimes pathname data: The lutimes(3) system call.
malloc size: The malloc(3) system call.
mkdir pathname [ mode ]: The mkdir(2) system call.
mkdtemp pathname: The mkdtemp(3) system call.
mknod pathname mode dev: The mknod(2) system call.
mkostemp templat flags: The mkostemp(3) system call.
mkstemp templat: The mkstemp(3) system call.
mktemp pathname: The mktemp(3) system call.
mmap data data_size prot flags fildes offset: The mmap(2) system call.
mount source target file_systems_type flags data: The mount(2) system call.
munmap data data_size: The munmap(2) system call.
nanosleep req rem: The nanosleep(2) system call.
nice inc: The nice(2) system call.
open pathname flags [ mode ]: The open(2) system call. The pathname argument may need to be quoted to insulate white space and punctuation from the shell. The flags argument may be numeric or symbolic. The mode argument may be numeric or symbolic.
openat fildes pathname flags mode: The openat(2) system call. The flags argument may be numeric or symbolic. The mode argument may be numeric or symbolic.
opendir pathname: The opendir(3) system call.
pathconf pathname name: The pathconf(3) system call.
pclose fp: The pclose(3) system call.
pipe pipefd: The pipe(2) system call.
pipe2 fildes flags: The pipe2(2) system call.
poll fds nfds timeout: The poll(2) system call.
popen command flags: The popen(3) system call.
pread fildes data data_size offset: The pread(2) system call.
ptrace request pid addr data: The ptrace(2) system call.
putc c fp: The putc(3) system call.
putchar c: The putchar(3) system call.
putenv string: The putenv(3) system call.
puts s: The puts(3) system call.
putw value fp: The putw(3) system call.
pwrite fildes data data_size offset: The pwrite(2) system call.
raise sig: The raise(3) system call.
read fildes data data‐size: The read(2) system call.
realloc ptr size: The realloc(3) system call.
realpath pathname resolved_pathname: The realpath(3) system call.
rename oldpath newpath: The rename(2) system call.
readv fildes iov ...: The readv(2) system call.
select nfds readfds writefds exceptfds timeout: The select(2) system call.
setbuf fp data: The setbuf(3) system call.
setbuffer fp data size: The setbuffer(3) system call.
setdomainname data data_size: The setdomainname(2) system call.
setenv name value overwrite: The setenv(3) system call.
setgid gid: The setgid(2) system call.
setgrent: The setgrent(3) system call.
setgroups data_size data: The setgroups(2) system call.
sethostname name [ name_size ]: The sethostname(2) system call.
setlinebuf fp: The setlinebuf(3) system call.
setpgid [ pid [ pgid ]]: The setpgid(2) system call.
setpgrp pid pgid: The setpgrp(2) system call.
setpriority which who prio: The setpriority(2) system call.
setregid rgid egid: The setregid(2) system call.
setreuid ruid euid: The setreuid(2) system call.
setresgid rgid egid sgid: The setresgid(2) system call.
setresuid ruid euid suid: The setresuid(2) system call.
setreuid ruid euid: The setreuid(2) system call.
setsid: The setsid(2) system call.
setsockopt fildes level name data data_size: The setsockopt(2) system call.
settimeofday tv tz: The settimeofday(2) system call.
setuid uid: The setuid(2) system call.
setvbuf fp data mode size: The setvbuf(3) system call.
shmat shmid shmaddr shmflg: The shmat(2) system call.
shmctl shmid command data: The shmctl(2) system call.
signalfd fildes mask flags: The signalfd(2) system call.
sleep seconds: The sleep(3) system call.
socket domain type protocol: The socket(2) system call.
socketpair domain type protocol sv: The socketpair(2) system call.
stat pathname: The stat(2) system call.
statfs pathname data: The statfs(2) system call.
statvfs pathname data: The statvfs(2) system call.
stime t: The stime(2) system call.
strcoll s1 s2: The strcoll(3) system call.
strdup data: The strdup(3) system call.
strerror: The error given will be printed out with all known detail.
strndup data data_size: The strndup(3) system call.
strtod nptr endptr: The strtod(3) system call.
strtof nptr endptr: The strtof(3) system call.
strtol nptr endptr base: The strtol(3) system call.
strtold nptr endptr: The strtold(3) system call.
strtoll nptr endptr base: The strtoll(3) system call.
strtoul nptr endptr base: The strtoul(3) system call.
strtoull nptr endptr base: The strtoull(3) system call.
symlink oldpath newpath: The symlink(2) system call.
system command: The system(3) system call.
tcdrain fildes: The tcdrain(3) system call.
tcflow fildes action: The tcflow(3) system call.
tcflush fildes selector: The tcflush(3) system call.
tcgetattr fildes data: The tcgetattr(3) system call.
tcsendbreak fildes duration: The tcsendbreak(3) system call.
tcsetattr fildes options data: The tcsetattr(3) system call.
telldir dir: The telldir(3) system call.
tempnam dir prefix: The tempnam(3) system call.
time t: The time(2) system call.
timerfd_create clockid flags: The timerfd_create(2) system call.
tmpfile: The tmpfile(3) system call.
tmpnam pathname: The tmpnam(3) system call.
truncate pathname size: The truncate(2) system call.
usleep usec: The usleep(3) system call.
uname data: The uname(2) system call.
ungetc c fp: The ungetc(3) system call.
unlink pathname: The unlink(2) system call.
unsetenv name: The unsetenv(3) system call.
ustat dev ubuf: The ustat(2) system call.
utime pathname [ times ]: The utime(2) system call.
utimens pathname [ data ]: The utimens(2) system call.
utimensat [ fildes ] pathname [ data [ flags ]]: The utimensat(2) system call.
utimes pathname data: The utimes(2) system call.
vasprintf data format ap: The vasprintf(3) system call.
vfork: The vfork(2) system call.
wait status: The wait(2) system call.
wait3 status options rusage: The wait3(2) system call.
wait4 pid status options rusage: The wait4(2) system call.
waitpid pid status options: The waitpid(2) system call.
write fildes data data‐size: The write(2) system call.
writev fildes data data‐size: The writev(2) system call.

Do not include the perentheses used to make the call.

OPTIONS

The explain command understands the following options:

-E: The exit staus, success or fail, will be printed immediately before the access command terminates.
-e number: The value of errno as a number (e.g. 2), or as a symbol (e.g. ENOENT), or as the text of its meaning (e.g. No such file or directory). You will need quotes to insulate spaces and punctuation from the shell.
-V: Print the version of the explain executing.

EXIT STATUS

The explain command exits with status 1 on any error. The explain command only exits with status 0 if there are no errors.

COPYRIGHT

AUTHOR

Written by Peter Miller <pmiller@opensource.org.au>