Structure that specifies how to handle a signal
The definition of struct sigaction is complicated; see <signal.h>
for details.
The sigaction structure specifies how to handle a signal.
You'll use this structure when you call
sigaction()
or
SignalAction()
The members include the following:
- void (*sa_handler) (int signo );
- The address of a signal handler or action for nonqueued signals.
- void (*sa_sigaction) (int signo, siginfo_t *info, void *other);
- The address of a signal handler or action for queued signals.
- sigset_t sa_mask
- An additional set of signals to be masked (blocked) during execution of the signal-catching function.
- int sa_flags
- Flags that affect the behavior of the signal:
- SA_NOCLDSTOP — don't generate a
SIGCHLD on the parent for children who stop via
SIGSTOP.
This flag is used only when the signal is SIGCHLD.
- SA_NOCLDWAIT — don't create zombie processes or status information on child termination.
- SA_NODEFER — don't automatically block the signal on entry to the handler.
- SA_RESETHAND — reset the handler to SIG_DFL on entering the
signal handler.
- SA_SIGINFO — queue this signal.
The default is not to queue a signal delivered to a process. If a signal
isn't queued, and the same signal is set multiple times on a process
or thread before it runs, only the last signal is
delivered. If you set the SA_SIGINFO flag, the
signals are queued, and they're all delivered.
The sa_handler and sa_sigaction members of
act are implemented as a union and share common storage.
They differ only in their prototypes, with sa_handler being used for
POSIX 1003.1a signals, and sa_sigaction being used for POSIX 1003.1b queued realtime signals.
The values stored using either name can be one of:
- function
- The address of a signal-catching function. See below for details.
- SIG_DFL
- Use the default action for the signal:
- SIGIO, SIGURG, and SIGWINCH: ignore the signal.
- SIGCHLD: ignore the signal, but still let the process's children become zombies.
- SIGSTOP, SIGTSTP, SIGTTIN,
and SIGTTOU: stop the process.
- SIGCONT: make the program continue.
- SIGABRT, SIGBUS,
SIGEMT (or SIGDEADLK),
SIGFPE, SIGILL, SIGQUIT,
SIGSEGV, SIGSYS, SIGTRAP,
and SIGXCPU:
kill the process and write a dump file.
- all other signals: kill the process.
- SIG_IGN
- Ignore the signal.
Setting SIG_IGN for a signal that's pending discards all pending signals,
whether it's blocked or not.
New signals are discarded.
If you set the action for SIGCHLD to SIG_IGN,
your process's children won't enter the zombie state, and the process won't be able to use
wait()
or
waitpid()
to wait on their deaths.
The function member of sa_handler or sa_sigaction
is always invoked with the following arguments:
void handler(int signo, siginfo_t *info, void *other)
If you have an old-style signal handler of the form:
void handler(int signo)
the microkernel passes the extra arguments, but
the function simply ignores them.
The info argument is a pointer to a
siginfo_t
structure that contains details about the signal.
While in the handler, signo is masked, preventing
nested signals of the same type. In addition, any signals set in the
sa_mask member of act are also ORed into the
mask. When the handler returns through a normal return, the previous mask
is restored, and any pending and now unmasked signals are acted
on. You return to the point in the program where it was
interrupted. If the thread was blocked in the kernel when the
interruption occurred, the kernel call returns with an
EINTR (see
ChannelCreate()
and
SyncMutexLock()
for exceptions to this).
 |
It isn't safe to use floating-point operations in signal handlers. |
See
sigaction().
POSIX 1003.1
sigaction(),
siginfo_t,
SignalAction()
“Process termination”
in the “Processes” chapter of the QNX Neutrino Programmer's Guide