Re: dup2() vs dup3() inconsistency when

From: H. Peter Anvin
Date: Thu Oct 09 2008 - 16:43:30 EST


Ulrich Drepper wrote:
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H. Peter Anvin wrote:
The dup2() behavior comes from the logical consequence of dup2()'s
"close on reuse"; one would think it would be logical for dup3() to
behave the same way.

No. We deliberately decided on this change. Otherwise, what is the
result of dup3(fd, fd, O_CLOEXEC)? There is no reason to use
dup2(fd,fd), so why the hell somebody wants to defend this is beyond me.


The result of dup3(fd, fd, O_CLOEXEC) is to set the O_CLOEXEC flag on fd.

The behaviour of dup2() is functionally the following:

1. Duplicate the file descriptor from file_table[oldfd].
2. If file_table[newfd] is in use, close it.
3. Install the duplicate file descriptor at file_table[newfd].

Step (2) could be considered a bit dubious, but the behaviour of dup2(fd, fd) is a direct consequence of the chosen semantics.

-hpa
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