ATEXIT(3C) Standard C Library Functions ATEXIT(3C)

NAME

atexit - register a function to run at process termination or object
unloading

SYNOPSIS

#include <stdlib.h>

int atexit(void (*func)(void));

DESCRIPTION

The atexit() function registers the function pointed to by func to be
called without arguments on normal termination of the program or when the
object defining the function is unloaded.


Normal termination occurs by either a call to the exit(3C) function or a
return from main(). Object unloading occurs when a call to dlclose(3C)
results in the object becoming unreferenced.


The number of functions that may be registered with atexit() is limited
only by available memory (refer to the _SC_ATEXIT_MAX argument of
sysconf(3C)).


After a successful call to any of the exec(2) functions, any functions
previously registered by atexit() are no longer registered.


On process exit, functions are called in the reverse order of their
registration. On object unloading, any functions belonging to an
unloadable object are called in the reverse order of their registration.

RETURN VALUES

Upon successful completion, the atexit() function returns 0. Otherwise,
it returns a non-zero value.

ERRORS

The atexit() function may fail if:

ENOMEM
Insufficient storage space is available.

USAGE

The functions registered by a call to atexit() must return to ensure that
all registered functions are called.


There is no way for an application to tell how many functions have
already been registered with atexit().

ATTRIBUTES

See attributes(7) for descriptions of the following attributes:


+--------------------+-----------------+
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
+--------------------+-----------------+
|Interface Stability | Standard |
+--------------------+-----------------+
|MT-Level | Safe |
+--------------------+-----------------+

SEE ALSO

exec(2), dlclose(3C), exit(3C), sysconf(3C), attributes(7)

May 25, 2001 ATEXIT(3C)