rename(2)rename(2)NAMErename - Rename a directory or a file within a file system
SYNOPSIS
#include <stdio.h>
int rename(
const char *from,
const char *to );
[Tru64 UNIX] The following definition of the rename() function does
not conform to industry standards and is supported only for backward
compatibility (see standards(5)): int rename(
char *from,
char *to );
STANDARDS
Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to industry stan‐
dards as follows:
rename(): XSH4.0, XSH4.2, XSH5.0
Refer to the standards(5) reference page for more information about
industry standards and associated tags.
PARAMETERS
Identifies the file or directory to be renamed. Identifies the new
pathname of the file or directory to be renamed. If the to parameter is
an existing file or empty directory, it is replaced by the from parame‐
ter. If the to parameter is a nonempty directory, the rename() function
exits with an error.
DESCRIPTION
The rename() function renames a directory or a file within a file sys‐
tem.
For rename() to complete successfully, the calling process must have
write and search permission to the parent directories of both the from
and to parameters. If the from parameter is a directory and the parent
directories of from and to are different, then the calling process must
have write and search permission to the from parameter as well.
If the from and to parameters both refer to the same existing file, the
rename() function returns successfully and performs no other action.
Both the from and to parameters must be of the same type (that is, both
are directories or both are not directories) and must reside on the
same file system. If the to parameter already exists, it is first
removed. In this case it is guaranteed that a link named the to parame‐
ter will exist throughout the operation. This link refers to the file
named by either the to or from parameter before the operation began.
If the final component of the from parameter is a symbolic link, the
symbolic link (not the file or directory to which it points) is
renamed. If the final component of the to parameter is a symbolic link,
the symbolic link is destroyed.
If the from and to parameters name directories, the following must be
true: The from parameter is not an ancestor of the to parameter. For
example, the to pathname must not contain a path prefix that names
from. The from parameter is well-formed. For example, the (dot) entry
in
from, if it exists, refers to the same directory as from, exactly one
directory has a link to from (excluding the self-referential (dot-dot)
entry in from, if it exists, refers to the directory that contains an
entry for from. The to parameter, if it exists, must be well-formed
(as defined previously).
Upon successful completion, the rename() function marks the st_ctime
and st_mtime fields of the parent directory of each file for update.
RETURN VALUES
Upon successful completion, the rename() function returns a value of 0
(zero). Otherwise, a value of -1 is returned, and errno is set to indi‐
cate the error.
ERRORS
If the rename() function fails, the file or directory name remains
unchanged and errno may be set to one of the following values: Creating
the requested link requires writing in a directory with a mode that
denies write permission, or a component of either pathname denies
search permission. The directory named by the from or to parameter is
currently in use by the system or by another process. [Tru64
UNIX] The directory that would contain to cannot be extended because
the user's quota of disk blocks on the file system containing the
directory is exhausted. The to parameter is an existing nonempty
directory. [Tru64 UNIX] Either the to or from parameter is an invalid
address. Either the from or to parameter is not a well-formed direc‐
tory, an attempt is made to rename . (dot) or .. (dot-dot), or the
from parameter is an ancestor of the to parameter. A physical I/O
error occurred. The to parameter names a directory and the from param‐
eter names a nondirectory. Too many links were encountered in trans‐
lating either to or from. The from parameter is a directory and the
link count of the to parameter's parent directory would exceed
LINK_MAX. The length of the to or from parameter exceeds PATH_MAX or a
pathname component is longer than NAME_MAX. [Tru64 UNIX] Indicates
either that the system file table is full, or that there are too many
files currently open in the system. A component of either path does
not exist, or either path is the empty string, or the file named by the
from parameter does not exist. The directory that would contain to
cannot be extended because the file system is out of space. The from
parameter names a directory and the to parameter names a nondirectory.
The S_ISVTX flag is set on the directory containing the file to be
renamed, and the caller is not the file owner. The requested operation
requires writing in a directory on a read-only file system. The link
named by the to parameter and the file named by the from parameter are
on different file systems.
SEE ALSO
Commands: chmod(1), mkdir(1), mv(1), mvdir(1)
Functions: chmod(2), link(2), mkdir(2), rmdir(2), unlink(2)
Standards: standards(5)rename(2)
