C Syntax
Contents
Copyright
2003-2025, The Open MPI Community
Jun 07, 2025 MPI_FILE_SET_INFO(3)
Description
MPI_File_set_info is a collective routine that sets new values for the hints of the file associated with
fh. These hints are set for each file, using the MPI_File_open, MPI_File_delete, MPI_File_set_view, and
MPI_File_set_info routines. The opaque info object, which allows you to provide hints for optimization of
your code, may be different on each process, but some info entries are required to be the same on all
processes: In these cases, they must appear with the same value in each process’s info object. See the
HINTSsection for a list of hints that can be set.
Errors
Almost all MPI routines return an error value; C routines as the return result of the function and
Fortran routines in the last argument.
Before the error value is returned, the current MPI error handler associated with the communication
object (e.g., communicator, window, file) is called. If no communication object is associated with the
MPI call, then the call is considered attached to MPI_COMM_SELF and will call the associated MPI error
handler. When MPI_COMM_SELF is not initialized (i.e., before MPI_Init/MPI_Init_thread, after
MPI_Finalize, or when using the Sessions Model exclusively) the error raises the initial error handler.
The initial error handler can be changed by calling MPI_Comm_set_errhandler on MPI_COMM_SELF when using
the World model, or the mpi_initial_errhandler CLI argument to mpiexec or info key to MPI_Comm_spawn/‐
MPI_Comm_spawn_multiple. If no other appropriate error handler has been set, then the MPI_ERRORS_RETURN
error handler is called for MPI I/O functions and the MPI_ERRORS_ABORT error handler is called for all
other MPI functions.
Open MPI includes three predefined error handlers that can be used:
• MPI_ERRORS_ARE_FATAL Causes the program to abort all connected MPI processes.
• MPI_ERRORS_ABORT An error handler that can be invoked on a communicator, window, file, or session. When
called on a communicator, it acts as if MPI_Abort was called on that communicator. If called on a
window or file, acts as if MPI_Abort was called on a communicator containing the group of processes in
the corresponding window or file. If called on a session, aborts only the local process.
• MPI_ERRORS_RETURN Returns an error code to the application.
MPI applications can also implement their own error handlers by calling:
• MPI_Comm_create_errhandler then MPI_Comm_set_errhandler
• MPI_File_create_errhandler then MPI_File_set_errhandler
• MPI_Session_create_errhandler then MPI_Session_set_errhandler or at MPI_Session_init
• MPI_Win_create_errhandler then MPI_Win_set_errhandler
Note that MPI does not guarantee that an MPI program can continue past an error.
See the MPImanpage for a full list of MPIerrorcodes.
See the Error Handling section of the MPI-3.1 standard for more information.
Hints
The following hints can be used as values for the info argument.
SETTABLEHINTS
• shared_file_timeout: Amount of time (in seconds) to wait for access to the shared file pointer before
exiting with MPI_ERR_TIMEDOUT.
• rwlock_timeout: Amount of time (in seconds) to wait for obtaining a read or write lock on a contiguous
chunk of a UNIX file before exiting with MPI_ERR_TIMEDOUT.
• noncoll_read_bufsize: Maximum size of the buffer used by MPI I/O to satisfy read requests in the
noncollective data-access routines.
NOTE:
A buffer size smaller than the distance (in bytes) in a UNIX file between the first byte and the
last byte of the access request causes MPI I/O to iterate and perform multiple UNIX read() or
write() calls. If the request includes multiple noncontiguous chunks of data, and the buffer size is
greater than the size of those chunks, then the UNIX read() or write() (made at the MPI I/O level)
will access data not requested by this process in order to reduce the total number of write() calls
made. If this is not desirable behavior, you should reduce this buffer size to equal the size of the
contiguous chunks within the aggregate request.
• noncoll_write_bufsize: Maximum size of the buffer used by MPI I/O to satisfy write requests in the
noncollective data-access routines.
See the above note in noncoll_read_bufsize.
• coll_read_bufsize: Maximum size of the buffer used by MPI I/O to satisfy read requests in the
collective data-access routines.
See the above note in noncoll_read_bufsize.
• coll_write_bufsize: Maximum size of the buffer used by MPI I/O to satisfy write requests in the
collective data-access routines.
See the above note in noncoll_read_bufsize.
• mpiio_concurrency: (boolean) controls whether nonblocking I/O routines can bind an extra thread to an
LWP.
• mpiio_coll_contiguous: (boolean) controls whether subsequent collective data accesses will request
collectively contiguous regions of the file.
NON-SETTABLEHINTS
• filename: Access this hint to get the name of the file.
Input Parameter
• info: Info object (handle).
Input/Output Parameter
• fh: File handle (handle).
Output Parameter
• ierror: Fortran only: Error status (integer).
Syntax
CSyntax
#include <mpi.h>
int MPI_File_set_info(MPI_File fh, MPI_Info info)
FortranSyntax
USE MPI
! or the older form: INCLUDE 'mpif.h'
MPI_FILE_SET_INFO(FH, INFO, IERROR)
INTEGER FH, INFO, IERROR
Fortran2008Syntax
USE mpi_f08
MPI_File_set_info(fh, info, ierror)
TYPE(MPI_File), INTENT(IN) :: fh
TYPE(MPI_Info), INTENT(IN) :: info
INTEGER, OPTIONAL, INTENT(OUT) :: ierror
