mknod - make a special file node

The device special file is created with the major and minor device numbers extracted from The access permissions of are descendant from the of the parent process. If indicates a block or character special file, is a configuration dependent specification of a character or block I/O device and the superblock of the device. If does not indicate a block special or character special device, is ignored. requires super-user privileges. On success, zero is returned. On error, -1 is returned, and is set appropriately.

ERRORS
A component of the path prefix is not a directory. The pathname contains a character with the high-order bit set. A component of a pathname exceeded 255 characters, or an entire path name exceeded 1023 characters. A component of the path prefix does not exist. Search permission is denied for a component of the path prefix. Too many symbolic links were encountered in translating the pathname. The process's effective user ID is not super-user. The pathname contains a character with the high-order bit set. An I/O error occurred while making the directory entry or allocating the inode. The directory in which the entry for the new node is being placed cannot be extended because there is no space left on the file system containing the directory. There are no free inodes on the file system on which the node is being created. The directory in which the entry for the new node is being placed cannot be extended because the user's quota of disk blocks on the file system containing the directory has been exhausted. The user's quota of inodes on the file system on which the node is being created has been exhausted. The named file resides on a read-only file system. The named file exists. points outside the process's allocated address space.

HISTORY
A function call appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.