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READLINK(2)                                BSD System Calls Manual                               READLINK(2)

NAME
     readlink -- read value of a symbolic link

SYNOPSIS
     #include <unistd.h>

     ssize_t
     readlink(const char *restrict path, char *restrict buf, size_t bufsize);

DESCRIPTION
     Readlink() places the contents of the symbolic link path in the buffer buf, which has size bufsize.
     Readlink does not append a NUL character to buf.

RETURN VALUES
     The call returns the count of characters placed in the buffer if it succeeds, or a -1 if an error
     occurs, placing the error code in the global variable errno.

ERRORS
     Readlink() will fail if:

     [EACCES]           Search permission is denied for a component of the path prefix.

     [EFAULT]           Buf extends outside the process's allocated address space.

     [EINVAL]           The named file is not a symbolic link.

     [EIO]              An I/O error occurred while reading from the file system.

     [ELOOP]            Too many symbolic links are encountered in translating the pathname.  This is taken
                        to be indicative of a looping symbolic link.

     [ENAMETOOLONG]     A component of a pathname exceeded {NAME_MAX} characters, or an entire path name
                        (possibly expanded by a symbolic link) exceeded {PATH_MAX} characters.

     [ENOENT]           The named file does not exist.

     [ENOTDIR]          A component of the path prefix is not a directory.

LEGACY SYNOPSIS
     #include <unistd.h>

     int
     readlink(const char *path, char *buf, int bufsize);

     The function type and the type of bufsize have changed.

SEE ALSO
     lstat(2), stat(2), symlink(2), compat(5), symlink(7)

HISTORY
     The readlink() function call appeared in 4.2BSD.

4.2 Berkeley Distribution                       June 4, 1993                       4.2 Berkeley Distribution