LIMITS.H(3HEAD) Headers LIMITS.H(3HEAD)
NAME
limits.h, limits - implementation-defined constants
SYNOPSIS
#include <limits.h>DESCRIPTION
The <
limits.h> header defines various symbolic names. Different
categories of names are described below.
The names represent various limits on resources that the implementation
imposes on applications. Symbolic constant names beginning with _POSIX
can be found in
unistd.h(3HEAD).
Applications should not assume any particular value for a limit. An
application wishing to avail itself of the full amount of a resource
available on an implementation can make use of the value given in
limits.h on that particular implementation by using the symbolic names
listed below. Many of the listed limits are not invariant, and at
runtime, the value of the limit might differ from those given in this
header, for the following reasons:
o The limit is pathname-dependent.
o The limit differs between the compile and runtime machines.
For these reasons, an application can use the
fpathconf(2),
pathconf(2),
and
sysconf(3C) functions to determine the actual value of a limit at
runtime.
Runtime Invariant Values (Possibly Indeterminate) AIO_LISTIO_MAX Maximum number of I/O operations in a single list I/O call supported
by the implementation.
AIO_MAX Maximum number of outstanding asynchronous I/O operations supported
by the implementation.
AIO_PRIO_DELTA_MAX The maximum amount by which a process can decrease its asynchronous
I/O priority level from its own scheduling priority.
ARG_MAX Maximum length of argument to the
exec(2) functions including
environment data.
ATEXIT_MAX Maximum number of functions that can be registered with
atexit(3C).
CHILD_MAX Maximum number of simultaneous processes per real user ID.
CLK_TCK Number of clock ticks per second returned by the
times(2) function.
DELAYTIMER_MAX Maximum number of timer expiration overruns.
HOST_NAME_MAX Maximum length of a host name (not including the terminating null) as
returned from the
gethostname(3C) function.
IOV_MAX Maximum number of
iovec structures that one process has available for
use with
read(2) or
write(2).
LOGIN_NAME_MAX Maximum length of a login name.
MQ_OPEN_MAX The maximum number of open message queue descriptors a process is
allowed to hold.
LOGIN_NAME_MAX Maximum length of a login name.
MQ_OPEN_MAX The maximum number of open message queue descriptors a process is
allowed to hold.
MQ_PRIO_MAX The maximum number of message priorities supported by the
implementation.
OPEN_MAX Maximum number of files that one process can have open at any one
time.
PAGESIZE Size in bytes of a page.
PAGE_SIZE Equivalent to
PAGESIZE. If either
PAGESIZE or
PAGE_SIZE is defined,
the other is defined with the same value.
PASS_MAX The maximum number of significant bytes in a password, not including
the terminating null.
PTHREAD_DESTRUCTOR_ITERATIONS Maximum number of attempts made to destroy a thread's thread-specific
data values on thread exit.
PTHREAD_KEYS_MAX Maximum number of data keys that can be created by a process.
PTHREAD_STACK_MIN Minimum size in bytes of thread stack storage.
PTHREAD_THREADS_MAX Maximum number of threads that can be created per process.
RE_DUP_MAX The number of repeated occurrences of a BRE permitted by the
regexec(3C) and
regcomp(3C) functions when using the interval
notation {\(
m,
n\}.
RTSIG_MAX Maximum number of realtime signals reserved for application use in
this implementation.
SEM_NSEMS_MAX Maximum number of semaphores that a process can have.
SEM_VALUE_MAX The maximum value a semaphore can have.
SIGQUEUE_MAX Maximum number of queued signals that a process can send and have
pending at the receiver(s) at any time.
SS_REPL_MAX The maximum number of replenishment operations that may be
simultaneously pending for a particular sporadic server scheduler.
STREAM_MAX The number of streams that one process can have open at one time. If
defined, it has the same value as
FOPEN_MAX.
SYMLOOP_MAX Maximum number of symbolic links that can be reliably traversed in
the resolution of a pathname in the absence of a loop.
TIMER_MAX Maximum number of timers per process supported by the implementation.
TRACE_EVENT_NAME_MAX Maximum length of the trace event name.
TRACE_NAME_MAX Maximum length of the trace generation version string or of the trace
stream name.
TRACE_SYS_MAX Maximum number of trace streams that may simultaneously exist in the
system.
TRACE_USER_EVENT_MAX Maximum number of user trace event type identifiers that may
simultaneously exist in a traced process, including the predefined
user trace event
POSIX_TRACE_UNNAMED_USER_EVENT.
TTY_NAME_MAX Maximum length of terminal device name.
TZNAME_MAX Maximum number of bytes supported for the name of a timezone (not of
the TZ variable).
Pathname Variable Values
The values in the following list can be constants within an
implementation or can vary from one pathname to another. For example,
file systems or directories can have different characteristics. The value
supported for a specific pathname is provided by the
pathconf(2) function.
FILESIZEBITS Minimum number of bits needed to represent,
as a signed integer value, the maximum size
of a regular file allowed in the specified
directory.
LINK_MAX Maximum number of links to a single file.
MAX_CANON Maximum number of bytes in a terminal
canonical input line.
MAX_INPUT Minimum number of bytes for which space is
available in a terminal input queue;
therefore, the maximum number of bytes a
conforming application may require to be
typed as input before reading them.
NAME_MAX Maximum number of bytes in a filename (not
including terminating null).
PATH_MAX Maximum number of bytes in a pathname,
including the terminating null character.
PIPE_BUF Maximum number of bytes that is guaranteed to
be atomic when writing to a pipe.
POSIX_ALLOC_SIZE_MIN Minimum number of bytes of storage actually
allocated for any portion of a file.
POSIX_REC_INCR_XFER_SIZE Recommended increment for file transfer sizes
between the
POSIX_REC_MIN_XFER_SIZE and
POSIX_REC_MAX_XFER_SIZE values.
POSIX_REC_MAX_XFER_SIZE Maximum recommended file transfer size.
POSIX_REC_MIN_XFER_SIZE Minimum recommended file transfer size.
POSIX_REC_XFER_ALIGN Recommended file transfer buffer alignment.
SYMLINK_MAX Maximum number of bytes in a symbolic link.
Runtime Increasable Values
The magnitude limitations in the following list are fixed by specific
implementations. An application should assume that the value supplied by
<
limits.h> in a specific implementation is the minimum that pertains
whenever the application is run under that implementation. A specific
instance of a specific implementation can increase the value relative to
that supplied by <
limits.h> for that implementation. The actual value
supported by a specific instance is provided by the
sysconf(3C) function.
BC_BASE_MAX Maximum obase values allowed by the
bc(1) utility.
BC_DIM_MAX Maximum number of elements permitted in an array by
the
bc utility.
BC_SCALE_MAX Maximum scale value allowed by the
bc utility.
BC_STRING_MAX Maximum length of a string constant accepted by the
bc utility.
CHARCLASS_NAME_MAX Maximum number of bytes in a character class name.
COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX Maximum number of weights that can be assigned to
an entry of the
LC_COLLATE order keyword in the
locale definition file.
EXPR_NEST_MAX Maximum number of expressions that can be nested
within parentheses by the
expr(1) utility.
EXPR_NEST_MAX Maximum number of expressions that can be nested
within parentheses by the
expr utility.
LINE_MAX Unless otherwise noted, the maximum length, in
bytes, of a utility's input line (either standard
input or another file), when the utility is
described as processing text files. The length
includes room for the trailing <newline>.
NGROUPS_MAX Maximum number of simultaneous supplementary group
IDs per process.
RE_DUP_MAX Maximum number of repeated occurrences of a regular
expression permitted when using the interval
notation \{
m,
n\}.
Maximum Values
The symbolic constants in the following list are symbolic names for the
most restrictive value for certain features on an implementation
supporting the POSIX Timers option.
_POSIX_CLOCKRES_MIN The resolution of the
CLOCK_REALTIME clock, in
nanoseconds.
Minimum Values
The symbolic constants in the following list are symbolic names for the
most restrictive value for certain features on an implementation
conforming to various POSIX and Single Unix Specification requirements.
See
standards(7).
_POSIX_AIO_LISTIO_MAX The number of I/O operations that can be specified in a list I/O
call.
_POSIX_AIO_MAX The number of outstanding asynchronous I/O operations.
_POSIX_ARG_MAX Maximum length of argument to the
exec(2) functions including
environment data.
_POSIX_CHILD_MAX Maximum number of simultaneous processes per real user ID.
_POSIX_DELAYTIMER_MAX The number of timer expiration overruns.
_POSIX_HOST_NAME_MAX Maximum length of a host name (not including the terminating null) as
returned from the
gethostname(3C) function.
_POSIX_LINK_MAX Maximum number of links to a single file.
_POSIX_LOGIN_NAME_MAX The size of the storage required for a login name, in bytes,
including the terminating null.
_POSIX_MAX_CANON Maximum number of bytes in a terminal canonical input queue.
_POSIX_MAX_INPUT Maximum number of bytes allowed in a terminal input queue.
_POSIX_MQ_OPEN_MAX The number of message queues that can be open for a single process.
_POSIX_MQ_PRIO_MAX The maximum number of message priorities supported by the
implementation.
_POSIX_NAME_MAX Maximum number of bytes in a filename (not including terminating
null).
_POSIX_NGROUPS_MAX Maximum number of simultaneous supplementary group IDs per process.
_POSIX_OPEN_MAX Maximum number of files that one process can have open at any one
time.
_POSIX_PATH_MAX Maximum number of bytes in a pathname.
_POSIX_PIPE_BUF Maximum number of bytes that is guaranteed to be atomic when writing
to a pipe.
_POSIX_RE_DUP_MAX The number of repeated occurrences of a BRE permitted by the
regexec() and
regcomp() functions when using the interval notation
{\(
m,
n\}
_POSIX_RTSIG_MAX The number of realtime signal numbers reserved for application use.
_POSIX_SEM_NSEMS_MAX The number of semaphores that a process can have.
_POSIX_SEM_VALUE_MAX The maximum value a semaphore can have.
_POSIX_SIGQUEUE_MAX The number of queued signals that a process can send and have pending
at the receiver(s) at any time.
_POSIX_SSIZE_MAX The value that can be stored in an object of type
ssize_t.
_POSIX_STREAM_MAX The number of streams that one process can have open at one time.
_POSIX_SS_REPL_MAX The number of replenishment operations that can be simultaneously
pending for a particular sporadic server scheduler.
_POSIX_SYMLINK_MAX The number of bytes in a symbolic link.
_POSIX_SYMLOOP_MAX The number of symbolic links that can be traversed in the resolution
of a pathname in the absence of a loop.
_POSIX_THREAD_DESTRUCTOR_ITERATIONS The number of attempts made to destroy a thread's thread-specific
data values on thread exit.
_POSIX_THREAD_KEYS_MAX The number of data keys per process.
_POSIX_THREAD_THREADS_MAX The number of threads per process.
_POSIX_TIMER_MAX The per-process number of timers.
_POSIX_TRACE_EVENT_NAME_MAX The length in bytes of a trace event name.
_POSIX_TRACE_NAME_MAX The length in bytes of a trace generation version string or a trace
stream name.
_POSIX_TRACE_SYS_MAX The number of trace streams that can simultaneously exist in the
system.
_POSIX_TRACE_USER_EVENT_MAX The number of user trace event type identifiers that may
simultaneously exist in a traced process, including the predefined
user trace event
POSIX_TRACE_UNNAMED_USER_EVENT.
_POSIX_TTY_NAME_MAX The size of the storage required for a terminal device name, in
bytes, including the terminating null.
_POSIX_TZNAME_MAX Maximum number of bytes supported for the name of a timezone (not of
the TZ variable).
_POSIX2_BC_BASE_MAX Maximum obase values allowed by the
bc utility.
_POSIX2_BC_DIM_MAX Maximum number of elements permitted in an array by the
bc utility.
_POSIX2_BC_SCALE_MAX Maximum scale value allowed by the
bc utility.
_POSIX2_BC_STRING_MAX Maximum length of a string constant accepted by the
bc utility.
_POSIX2_CHARCLASS_NAME_MAX Maximum number of bytes in a character class name.
_POSIX2_COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX Maximum number of weights that can be assigned to an entry of the
LC_COLLATE order keyword in the locale definition file.
_POSIX2_EXPR_NEST_MAX Maximum number of expressions that can be nested within parentheses
by the
expr utility.
_POSIX2_LINE_MAX Unless otherwise noted, the maximum length, in bytes, of a utility's
input line (either standard input or another file), when the utility
is described as processing text files. The length includes room for
the trailing <newline>.
_POSIX2_RE_DUP_MAX Maximum number of repeated occurrences of a regular expression
permitted when using the interval notation \{
m,
n\}.
_XOPEN_IOV_MAX Maximum number of
iovec structures that one process has available for
use with
read(2) or
write(2).
_XOPEN_NAME_MAX Maximum number of bytes in a filename (not including the terminating
null).
_XOPEN_PATH_MAX Maximum number of bytes in a pathname.
Numerical Limits
The values in the following lists shall be defined in <
limits.h> and are
constant expressions suitable for use in
#if preprocessing directives.
Moreover, except for
CHAR_BIT,
DBL_DIG,
DBL_MAX,
FLT_DIG,
FLT_MAX,
LONG_BIT,
WORD_BIT, and
MB_LEN_MAX, the symbolic names are defined as
expressions of the correct type.
If the value of an object of type
char is treated as a signed integer
when used in an expression, the value of
CHAR_MIN is the same as that of
SCHAR_MIN and the value of
CHAR_MAX is the same as that of
SCHAR_MAX.
Otherwise, the value of
CHAR_MIN is 0 and the value of
CHAR_MAX is the
same as that of
UCHAR_MAX.
CHAR_BIT Number of bits in a type
char.
CHAR_MAX Maximum value of type
char.
CHAR_MIN Minimum value of type
char.
DBL_DIG Digits of precision of type
double.
DBL_MAX Maximum decimal value of a
double.
DBL_MIN Minimum decimal value of a
double.
FLT_DIG Digits of precision of type
float.
FLT_MAX Maximum decimal value of a
float.
FLT_MIN Minimum decimal value of a
float.
INT_MIN Minimum value of type
int.
INT_MAX Maximum value of an
int.
LLONG_MIN Minimum value of type
long long.
LLONG_MAX Maximum value of type
long long.
LONG_BIT Number of bits in a
long.
LONG_MIN Minimum value of type
long.
LONG_MAX Maximum value of a
long.
MB_LEN_MAX Maximum number of bytes in a character, for any supported
locale.
SCHAR_MIN Minimum value of type
signed char.
SCHAR_MAX Maximum value of type
signed char.
SHRT_MIN Minimum value of type
short.
SHRT_MAX Maximum value of type
short.
SSIZE_MAX Maximum value of an object of type
ssize_t.
TMP_MAX Minimum number of unique filename generated by
tmpnam(3C).
Maximum number of times an application can call
tmpnam() reliably.
UCHAR_MAX Maximum value of type
unsigned char.
UINT_MAX Maximum value of type
unsigned.
ULLONG_MAX Maximum value of type unsigned
long long.
ULONG_MAX Maximum value of type
unsigned long.
USHRT_MAX Maximum value for a type
unsigned short.
WORD_BIT Number of bits in a word or type
int.
Other Invariant Values
The following constants are defined in <
limits.h>.
CHARCLASS_NAME_MAX Maximum number of bytes in a character class name.
LOGNAME_MAX The maximum number of bytes supported in a user's
login name.
NL_ARGMAX Maximum value of digit in calls to the
printf(3C) and
scanf(3C) functions.
NL_LANGMAX Maximum number of bytes in a
LANG name.
NL_MSGMAX Maximum message number.
NL_NMAX Maximum number of bytes in an N-to-1 collation
mapping.
NL_SETMAX Maximum set number.
NL_TEXTMAX Maximum number of bytes in a message string.
NZERO Default process priority.
SEE ALSO
fpathconf(2),
pathconf(2),
sysconf(3C),
standards(7) April 8, 2004
LIMITS.H(3HEAD)