explain - explain system call error messages

       Written by Peter Miller <pmiller@opensource.org.au>

                                                                                                      explain(1)

       explain version 1.4
       Copyright (C) 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Peter Miller

       The  explain  command  is  used  to  decode  an  error return read from an strace(1) listing, or silimar.
       Because this is being deciphered in a different process than the  original,  the  results  will  be  less
       accurate than if the program itself were to use libexplain(3).

   Functions
       The functions understood include:

       accept fildesaddraddrlen
               The accept(2) system call.

       accept4 fildes [[ sock_addrsock_addr_size ] flags ]
               The accept4(2) system call.

       access pathname
               The access(2) system call.

       acct pathname
               The acct(2) system call.

       acl_from_text text
               The acl_from_text(3) system call.

       acl_get_fd fildes
               The acl_get_fd(3) system call.

       acl_get_file pathnametype
               The acl_get_file(3) system call.

       acl_set_fd fildesacl
               The acl_set_fd(3) system call.

       acl_set_file pathnametypeacl
               The acl_set_file(3) system call.

       acl_to_text acllen_p
               The acl_to_text(3) system call.

       adjtime deltaolddelta
               The adjtime(2) system call.

       adjtimex data
               The adjtimex(2) system call.

       asprintf
               The asprintf(3) system call.

       bind fildesaddrsockaddr_size
               The bind(2) system call.

       calloc nmembsize
               The calloc(3) system call.

       chdir pathname
               The chdir(2) system call.

       chmod pathnamepermission‐mode
               The chmod(2) system call.

       chown pathnameownergroup
               The chown(2) system call.

       chroot pathname
               The chroot(2) system call.

       close fildes
               The close(2) system call.

       closedir dir
               The closedir(3) system call.

       connect fildesserv_addrserv_addr_size
               The connect(2) system call.

       creat pathname [ permission‐mode
               The creat(2) system call.

       dirfd dir
               The dirfd(3) system call.

       dup fildes
               The dup(2) system call.

       dup2 oldfdnewfd
               The dup2(2) system call.

       endgrent
               The endgrent(3) system call.

       eventfd initvalflags
               The eventfd(2) system call.

       execlp pathnamearg...
               The execlp(3) system call.

       execv pathnameargv
               The execv(3) system call.

       execve pathnamearg...
               The execve(2) system call.

       execvp pathnamearg...
               The execvp(3) system call.

       fchdir pathname
               The fchdir(2) system call.

       fchmod fildesmode
               The fchmod(2) system call.

       fchown fildesownergroup
               The fchown(2) system call.

       fchownat dirfdpathnameownergroupflags
               The fchownat(2) system call.

       fclose fp
               The fclose(3) system call.

       fcntl fildescommand [ arg ]
               The fcntl(2) system call.

       fdopen fdmode
               The fdopen(3) system call.

       fdopendir fildes
               The fdopendir(3) system call.

       feof fp The feof(3) system call.

       ferror fp
               The ferror(3) system call.

       fflush fp
               The fflush(3) system call.

       fgetc fp
               The fgetc(3) system call.

       fgetpos fppos
               The fgetpos(3) system call.

       fgets datadata_sizefp
               The fgets(3) system call.

       fileno fp
               The fileno(3) system call.

       flock fildescommand
               The flock(2) system call.

       fork    The fork(2) system call.

       fpathconf fildesname
               The fpathconf(3) system call.

       fpurge fp
               The fpurge(3) system call.

       fread ptrsizenmembfp
               The fread(3) system call.

       fopen pathnamemode
               The  fopen(2)  system  call.  The pathname argument may need to be quoted to insulate white space
               and punctuation from the shell.  The mode argument (a  textual  equivalent  of  the  open  system
               call's flags argument).  See fopen(3) for more information.

       fputc c [ fp ]
               The fputc(3) system call.

       fputs sfp
               The fputs(3) system call.

       freopen pathnameflagsfp
               The freopen(3) system call.

       fseek fpoffsetwhence
               The fseek(3) system call.

       fseeko fpoffsetwhence
               The fseeko(3) system call.

       fsetpos fppos
               The fsetpos(3) system call.

       fstat pathname
               The fstat(2) system call.

       fstatat fildespathnamedataflags
               The fstatat(2) system call.

       fstatfs fildesdata
               The fstatfs(2) system call.

       fstatvfs fildesdata
               The fstatvfs(2) system call.

       fsync fildes
               The fsync(2) system call.

       ftell fp
               The ftell(3) system call.

       ftello fp
               The ftello(3) system call.

       ftime tp
               The ftime(3) system call.

       ftruncate fildeslength
               The ftruncate(2) system call.

       futimens fildesdata
               The futimens(3) system call.

       futimes fildestv[0]data[1]
               The futimes(3) system call.

       futimesat fildespathnamedata
               The futimesat(2) system call.

       getc fp The getc(3) system call.

       getchar The getchar(3) system call.

       getcwd bufsize
               The getcwd(2) system call.

       getdomainname datadata_size
               The getdomainname(2) system call.

       getgrent
               The getgrent(3) system call.

       getgrouplist usergroupgroupsngroups
               The getgrouplist(3) system call.

       getgroups data_sizedata
               The getgroups(2) system call.

       gethostbyname name
               The gethostbyname(3) system call.

       gethostid
               The gethostid(3) system call.

       gethostname [ datadata_size ]
               The gethostname(2) system call.

       getpeername fildessock_addrsock_addr_size
               The getpeername(2) system call.

       getpgid pid
               The getpgid(2) system call.

       getpgrp pid
               The getpgrp(2) system call.

       getpriority whichwho
               The getpriority(2) system call.

       getresgid rgidegidsgid
               The getresgid(2) system call.

       getresuid ruideuidsuid
               The getresuid(2) system call.

       getrlimit resourcerlim
               The getrlimit(2) system call.

       getrusage whousage
               The getrusage(2) system call.

       getsockname fildes [ sock_addr [ sock_addr_size ]]
               The getsockname(2) system call.

       getsockopt fildeslevelnamedatadata_size
               The getsockopt(2) system call.

       gettimeofday [ tv [ tz ] ]
               The gettimeofday(2) system call.

       getw fp The getw(3) system call.

       iconv cdinbufinbytesleftoutbufoutbytesleft
               The iconv(3) system call.

       iconv_close cd
               The iconv_close(3) system call.

       iconv_open tocodefromcode
               The iconv_open(3) system call.

       ioctl fildesrequestdata
               The ioctl(2) system call.

       kill pidsig
               The kill(2) system call.

       lchmod pathnamemode
               The lchmod(2) system call.

       lchown pathnameownergroup
               The lchown(2) system call.

       lchownat fildespathnameuidgid
               The lchownat(2) system call.

       link oldpathnewpath
               The link(2) system call.

       linkat old_fildesold_pathnew_fildesnew_pathflags
               The linkat(2) system call.

       listen fildesbacklog
               The listen(2) system call.

       lseek fildesoffsetwhence
               The lseek(2) system call.

       lstat pathname
               The lstat(2) system call.

       lutimes pathnamedata
               The lutimes(3) system call.

       malloc size
               The malloc(3) system call.

       mkdir pathname [ mode ]
               The mkdir(2) system call.

       mkdtemp pathname
               The mkdtemp(3) system call.

       mknod pathnamemodedev
               The mknod(2) system call.

       mkostemp templatflags
               The mkostemp(3) system call.

       mkstemp templat
               The mkstemp(3) system call.

       mktemp pathname
               The mktemp(3) system call.

       mmap datadata_sizeprotflagsfildesoffset
               The mmap(2) system call.

       mount sourcetargetfile_systems_typeflagsdata
               The mount(2) system call.

       munmap datadata_size
               The munmap(2) system call.

       nanosleep reqrem
               The nanosleep(2) system call.

       nice inc
               The nice(2) system call.

       open pathnameflags [ mode ]
               The open(2) system call.  The pathname argument may need to be quoted to insulate white space and
               punctuation  from  the  shell.  The flags argument may be numeric or symbolic.  The mode argument
               may be numeric or symbolic.

       openat fildespathnameflagsmode
               The openat(2) system call.  The flags argument may be numeric or symbolic.  The mode argument may
               be numeric or symbolic.

       opendir pathname
               The opendir(3) system call.

       pathconf pathnamename
               The pathconf(3) system call.

       pclose fp
               The pclose(3) system call.

       pipe pipefd
               The pipe(2) system call.

       pipe2 fildesflags
               The pipe2(2) system call.

       poll fdsnfdstimeout
               The poll(2) system call.

       popen commandflags
               The popen(3) system call.

       pread fildesdatadata_sizeoffset
               The pread(2) system call.

       ptrace requestpidaddrdata
               The ptrace(2) system call.

       putc cfp
               The putc(3) system call.

       putchar c
               The putchar(3) system call.

       putenv string
               The putenv(3) system call.

       puts s  The puts(3) system call.

       putw valuefp
               The putw(3) system call.

       pwrite fildesdatadata_sizeoffset
               The pwrite(2) system call.

       raise sig
               The raise(3) system call.

       read fildesdatadata‐size
               The read(2) system call.

       realloc ptrsize
               The realloc(3) system call.

       realpath pathnameresolved_pathname
               The realpath(3) system call.

       rename oldpathnewpath
               The rename(2) system call.

       readv fildesiov ...
               The readv(2) system call.

       select nfdsreadfdswritefdsexceptfdstimeout
               The select(2) system call.

       setbuf fpdata
               The setbuf(3) system call.

       setbuffer fpdatasize
               The setbuffer(3) system call.

       setdomainname datadata_size
               The setdomainname(2) system call.

       setenv namevalueoverwrite
               The setenv(3) system call.

       setgid gid
               The setgid(2) system call.

       setgrent
               The setgrent(3) system call.

       setgroups data_sizedata
               The setgroups(2) system call.

       sethostname name [ name_size ]
               The sethostname(2) system call.

       setlinebuf fp
               The setlinebuf(3) system call.

       setpgid [ pid [ pgid ]]
               The setpgid(2) system call.

       setpgrp pidpgid
               The setpgrp(2) system call.

       setpriority whichwhoprio
               The setpriority(2) system call.

       setregid rgidegid
               The setregid(2) system call.

       setreuid ruideuid
               The setreuid(2) system call.

       setresgid rgidegidsgid
               The setresgid(2) system call.

       setresuid ruideuidsuid
               The setresuid(2) system call.

       setreuid ruideuid
               The setreuid(2) system call.

       setsid  The setsid(2) system call.

       setsockopt fildeslevelnamedatadata_size
               The setsockopt(2) system call.

       settimeofday tvtz
               The settimeofday(2) system call.

       setuid uid
               The setuid(2) system call.

       setvbuf fpdatamodesize
               The setvbuf(3) system call.

       shmat shmidshmaddrshmflg
               The shmat(2) system call.

       shmctl shmidcommanddata
               The shmctl(2) system call.

       signalfd fildesmaskflags
               The signalfd(2) system call.

       sleep seconds
               The sleep(3) system call.

       socket domaintypeprotocol
               The socket(2) system call.

       socketpair domaintypeprotocolsv
               The socketpair(2) system call.

       stat pathname
               The stat(2) system call.

       statfs pathnamedata
               The statfs(2) system call.

       statvfs pathnamedata
               The statvfs(2) system call.

       stime t The stime(2) system call.

       strcoll s1s2
               The strcoll(3) system call.

       strdup data
               The strdup(3) system call.

       strerror
               The error given will be printed out with all known detail.

       strndup datadata_size
               The strndup(3) system call.

       strtod nptrendptr
               The strtod(3) system call.

       strtof nptrendptr
               The strtof(3) system call.

       strtol nptrendptrbase
               The strtol(3) system call.

       strtold nptrendptr
               The strtold(3) system call.

       strtoll nptrendptrbase
               The strtoll(3) system call.

       strtoul nptrendptrbase
               The strtoul(3) system call.

       strtoull nptrendptrbase
               The strtoull(3) system call.

       symlink oldpathnewpath
               The symlink(2) system call.

       system command
               The system(3) system call.

       tcdrain fildes
               The tcdrain(3) system call.

       tcflow fildesaction
               The tcflow(3) system call.

       tcflush fildesselector
               The tcflush(3) system call.

       tcgetattr fildesdata
               The tcgetattr(3) system call.

       tcsendbreak fildesduration
               The tcsendbreak(3) system call.

       tcsetattr fildesoptionsdata
               The tcsetattr(3) system call.

       telldir dir
               The telldir(3) system call.

       tempnam dirprefix
               The tempnam(3) system call.

       time t  The time(2) system call.

       timerfd_create clockidflags
               The timerfd_create(2) system call.

       tmpfile The tmpfile(3) system call.

       tmpnam pathname
               The tmpnam(3) system call.

       truncate pathnamesize
               The truncate(2) system call.

       usleep usec
               The usleep(3) system call.

       uname data
               The uname(2) system call.

       ungetc cfp
               The ungetc(3) system call.

       unlink pathname
               The unlink(2) system call.

       unsetenv name
               The unsetenv(3) system call.

       ustat devubuf
               The ustat(2) system call.

       utime pathname [ times ]
               The utime(2) system call.

       utimens pathname [ data ]
               The utimens(2) system call.

       utimensat [ fildes ] pathname [ data [ flags ]]
               The utimensat(2) system call.

       utimes pathnamedata
               The utimes(2) system call.

       vasprintf dataformatap
               The vasprintf(3) system call.

       vfork   The vfork(2) system call.

       wait status
               The wait(2) system call.

       wait3 statusoptionsrusage
               The wait3(2) system call.

       wait4 pidstatusoptionsrusage
               The wait4(2) system call.

       waitpid pidstatusoptions
               The waitpid(2) system call.

       write fildesdatadata‐size
               The write(2) system call.

       writev fildesdatadata‐size
               The writev(2) system call.

       Do not include the perentheses used to make the call.

       The  explain  command  exits with status 1 on any error.  The explain command only exits with status 0 if
       there are no errors.

       explain - explain system call error messages

       The explain command understands the following options:

       -E      The exit staus,  success  or  fail,  will  be  printed  immediately  before  the  access  command
               terminates.

       -enumber
               The  value  of  errno  as  a number (e.g. 2), or as a symbol (e.g. ENOENT), or as the text of its
               meaning (e.g. No such  file  or  directory).Youwillneedquotestoinsulatespacesandpunctuationfromtheshell.-V      Print the version of the explain executing.

explain [ option ...  ] function [ argument ...  ]

       explain--version