system(3S)                                                system(3S)


       NAME
             system - issue a shell command

       SYNOPSIS
             #include <stdlib.h>
             int system(const char *string);

       DESCRIPTION
             system causes the string to be given to the shell [see sh(1)]
             as input, as if it had been typed as a command at a terminal.
             system forks to create a child process that in turn execs
             /sbin/sh in order to execute string.  The current process
             waits until the shell has completed, then returns the exit
             status of the shell.  See wstat(5) for a description of the
             information packed into the exit status.

          Return Values
             If string is a NULL pointer, system checks if /sbin/sh exists
             and is executable.  If /sbin/sh is available, system returns
             non zero; otherwise it returns zero.  If the fork or exec of
             string fails, system returns -1 and sets errno.  If the
             command interpreter cannot be executed then it behaves as if
             exit(127) or _exit(127) had been called.

          Errors
             system fails if one or more of the following are true:

             EAGAIN      The system-imposed limit on the total number of
                         processes under execution by a single user would
                         be exceeded.

             ENOMEM      The new process requires more memory than is
                         allowed by the system-imposed maximum MAXMEM.

       REFERENCES
             exec(2), sh(1), wstat(5)












                           Copyright 1994 Novell, Inc.               Page 1