.\" Copyright (c) 1991 Regents of the University of California. .\" All rights reserved. .\" .\" %sccs.include.redist.man% .\" .\" @(#)mmap.2 6.1 (Berkeley) 05/27/91 .\" .TH MMAP 2 "" .UC 7 .SH NAME mmap \- map files or devices into memory .SH SYNOPSIS .nf .B caddr_t mmap(addr, len, prot, flags, fd, pos) .B caddr_t addr; .B int len, prot, flags, fd; .B off_t pos; .fi .SH DESCRIPTION .PP The \fImmap\fP system call causes the pages starting at \fIaddr\fP and continuing for at most \fIlen\fP bytes to be mapped from the object represented by descriptor \fIfd\fP, starting at byte offset \fIpos\fP. The starting address of the region is returned; for the convenience of the system, it may differ from that supplied unless the MAP_FIXED flag is given, in which case the exact address will be used or the call will fail. The \fIaddr\fP, \fIlen\fP, and \fIpos\fP parameters must all be multiples of the pagesize. A successful \fImmap\fP will delete any previous mapping in the allocated address range. .PP The system supports sharing of data between processes by allowing pages to be mapped into memory. These mapped pages may be \fIshared\fP with other processes or \fIprivate\fP to the process. Protection and sharing options are defined in \fI\fP as: .DS .ta \w'#define\ \ 'u +\w'MAP_HASSEMAPHORE\ \ 'u +\w'0x0080\ \ 'u /* protections are chosen from these bits, or-ed together */ #define PROT_READ 0x04 /* pages can be read */ #define PROT_WRITE 0x02 /* pages can be written */ #define PROT_EXEC 0x01 /* pages can be executed */ .DE .DS .ta \w'#define\ \ 'u +\w'MAP_HASSEMAPHORE\ \ 'u +\w'0x0080\ \ 'u /* flags contain mapping type, sharing type and options */ /* mapping type; choose one */ #define MAP_FILE 0x0001 /* mapped from a file or device */ #define MAP_ANON 0x0002 /* allocated from memory, swap space */ #define MAP_TYPE 0x000f /* mask for type field */ .DE .DS .ta \w'#define\ \ 'u +\w'MAP_HASSEMAPHORE\ \ 'u +\w'0x0080\ \ 'u /* sharing types; choose one */ #define MAP_SHARED 0x0010 /* share changes */ #define MAP_PRIVATE 0x0000 /* changes are private */ .DE .DS .ta \w'#define\ \ 'u +\w'MAP_HASSEMAPHORE\ \ 'u +\w'0x0080\ \ 'u /* other flags */ #define MAP_FIXED 0x0020 /* map addr must be exactly as requested */ #define MAP_INHERIT 0x0040 /* region is retained after exec */ #define MAP_HASSEMAPHORE 0x0080 /* region may contain semaphores */ .DE .PP The parameter \fIprot\fP specifies the accessibility of the mapped pages. The parameter \fIflags\fP specifies the type of object to be mapped, mapping options, and whether modifications made to this mapped copy of the page are to be kept \fIprivate\fP, or are to be \fIshared\fP with other references. Possible types include MAP_FILE, mapping a regular file or character-special device memory, and MAP_ANON, which maps memory not associated with any specific file. The file descriptor used for creating MAP_ANON regions is used only for naming, and may be given as \-1 if no name is associated with the region.\(dg .FS \(dg The current design does not allow a process to specify the location of swap space. In the future we may define an additional mapping type, MAP_SWAP, in which the file descriptor argument specifies a file or device to which swapping should be done. .FE The MAP_INHERIT flag allows a region to be inherited after an \fIexec\fP. The MAP_HASSEMAPHORE flag allows special handling for regions that may contain semaphores. .SH "SEE ALSO" msync.2, munmap.2, mprotect.2, madvise.2, mincore.2