setxattr, lsetxattr, fsetxattr - set an extended attribute
value
SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <attr/xattr.h>
int setxattr (const char *path, const char *name,
const void *value, size_t size, int flags);
int lsetxattr (const char *path, const char *name,
const void *value, size_t size, int flags);
int fsetxattr (int filedes, const char *name,
const void *value, size_t size, int flags);
DESCRIPTION
Extended attributes are name:value pairs associated with
inodes (files, directories, symlinks, etc). They are
extensions to the normal attributes which are associated
with all inodes in the system (i.e. the stat(2) data). A
complete overview of extended attributes concepts can be
found in attr(5).
setxattr sets the value of the extended attribute identi
fied by name and associated with the given path in the
filesystem. The size of the value must be specified.
lsetxattr is identical to setxattr, except in the case of
a symbolic link, where the extended attribute is set on
the link itself, not the file that it refers to.
fsetxattr is identical to setxattr, only the extended
attribute is set on the open file pointed to by filedes
(as returned by open(2)) in place of path.
An extended attribute name is a simple NULL-terminated
string. The name includes a namespace prefix - there may
be several, disjoint namespaces associated with an indi
vidual inode. The value of an extended attribute is a
chunk of arbitrary textual or binary data of specified
length.
The flags parameter can be used to refine the semantics of
the operation. XATTR_CREATE specifies a pure create,
which fails if the named attribute exists already.
XATTR_REPLACE specifies a pure replace operation, which
fails if the named attribute does not already exist. By
default (no flags), the extended attribute will be created
if need be, or will simply replace the value if the
attribute exists.
RETURN VALUE
On success, zero is returned. On failure, -1 is returned
and errno is set appropriately.
already, errno is set to EEXIST. If XATTR_REPLACE is
specified, and the attribute does not exist, errno is set
to ENOATTR.
If there is insufficient space remaining to store the
extended attribute, errno is set to either ENOSPC, or
EDQUOT if quota enforcement was the cause.
If extended attributes are not supported by the filesys
tem, or are disabled, errno is set to ENOTSUP.
The errors documented for the stat(2) system call are also
applicable here.
AUTHORS
Andreas Gruenbacher, <a.gruenbacher@computer.org> and the
SGI XFS development team, <linux-xfs@oss.sgi.com>. Please
send any bug reports or comments to these addresses.
SEE ALSO
getfattr(1), setfattr(1), open(2), stat(2), getxattr(2),
listxattr(2), removexattr(2), and attr(5).
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