UNIX System Parameter Definitions

[Moderator, John S. Quarterman]

From: uunet!posix!hlj (Hal Jespersen)

In article <352 at longway.TIC.COM> uunet!rti.rti.org!tijc02.uucp!pjs269 (Paul Schmidt ) writes:
>Newsgroups: comp.std.unix
>From: uunet!rti.rti.org!tijc02.uucp!pjs269 (Paul Schmidt        )
>
>Are the UNIX System Parameters part of any standard?
>How do you develop an application that uses system
>calls such as msgget, shmget, and semget, so that they
>will run on all systems without violating the system-
>imposed limits?
>
>	I know that for AT&T UNIX System V.2 on DEC processors
>these limits are configurable.  On Apollos they are not.
>What about SUN?  Are there any workstations that can be
>configured?

There are really two answers here.  POSIX.1 has included all the "system
parameters" you need [we hope!] to use its interfaces.  The functions
you cite are not in POSIX.1, although similar to some in POSIX.4 (Real-
time).

But, implementations based on System V that support POSIX will probably
also support all the traditional System V calls as well.  One option is
for those systems to extend the sysconf() function of POSIX.1 to query
all the appropriate things.  For example, the M88000 Binary
Compatibility Standard (BCS) published by 88open Consortium is a merge
of POSIX.1 and SVR3.2.  It has extended sysconf() to provide all the
values you need.  The Motorola/UniSoft 68K BCS does the same, and I
would presume other similar efforts are underway elsewhere.  Maybe
folks listening in could provide such plans.



					Hal Jespersen
					POSIX Software Group
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Volume-Number: Volume 16, Number 50