acct

Purpose

     Enables and disables process accounting.

Syntax

     int acct (path)
     char *path;

Description

     The acct system call  enables the accounting routine when
     the path parameter specifies the path name of the file to
     which an  accounting record  is written for  each process
     that terminates.   (For information about  the accounting
     file, see "acct.") When the  path parameter is 0 or NULL,
     the acct system call disables the accounting routine.

     If Distributed Services is  installed on your system, the
     accounting file can reside on another node.

     Warning:  To  ensure accurate accounting, each  node must
     have its own accounting file, which can be located on any
     node in the network.

     The  effective user  ID of  the calling  process must  be
     superuser to use the acct system call.

Return Value

     Upon successful  completion, acct  returns a value  of 0.
     If acct fails, a value of -1 is returned and errno is set
     to indicate the error.

Diagnostics

     The acct  system call fails  if one  or more of  the fol-
     lowing are true:

     EPERM      The effective  user ID of the  calling process
                is not superuser.

     EBUSY      An attempt  is made to enable  accounting when
                it is already enabled.

     ENOTDIR    A  component of  the path  parameter is  not a
                directory.

     ENOENT     Any  component of  the accounting  file's path
                name does not exist.

     EACCES     Any  component of  the  path parameter  denies
                search permission.

     EACCES     The file named by the path parameter is not an
                ordinary file.

     EACCES     Mode  permission  is   denied  for  the  named
                accounting file.

     EISDIR     The named file is a directory.

     EROFS      The  named file  resides on  a read-only  file
                system.

     EFAULT     The path parameter &pointsout..

     ESTALE     The  process's root  or  current directory  is
                located in a virtual file system that has been
                unmounted.

     If Distributed Services is installed on your system, acct
     can also fail if one or more of the following are true:

     EDIST         The   server   has  blocked   new   inbound
                   requests.

     EDIST         Outbound requests are currently blocked.

     EDIST         The server has a  release level of Distrib-
                   uted Services that  cannot communicate with
                   this node.

     EAGAIN        The  server  is  too  busy  to  accept  the
                   request.

     ESTALE        The file  descriptor for a remote  file has
                   become obsolete.

     EPERM         The translate tables of  the server did not
                   contain any entry  for either the effective
                   user  ID  or  effective  group  ID  of  the
                   calling process.

     ENODEV        The named file is  a remote file located on
                   a  device that  has been  unmounted at  the
                   server.

     ENOMEM        Either  this node  or the  server does  not
                   have enough memory available to service the
                   request.

     ENOCONNECT    An attempt to establish  a new network con-
                   nection with a remote node failed.

     EBADCONNECT   An attempt to use  an existing network con-
                   nection with a remote node failed.

Related Information

     In this book:  "exit, _exit,"  "signal," and "acct."

     The  discussion of  acct  in Managing  the AIX  Operating
     System.