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SYSTEM(3) Library Functions Manual SYSTEM(3) NAME system -- pass a command to the shell LIBRARY Standard C Library (libc, -lc) SYNOPSIS #include <stdlib.h> int system(const char *string); DESCRIPTION The system() function hands the argument string to the command inter- preter sh(1). The calling process waits for the shell to finish exe- cuting the command, ignoring SIGINT and SIGQUIT, and blocking SIGCHLD. If string is a NULL pointer, system() will return non-zero if the com- mand interpreter sh(1) is available, and zero if it is not. RETURN VALUES The system() function returns the exit status of the shell as returned by waitpid(2), or -1 if an error occurred when invoking fork(2) or waitpid(2). A return value of 127 means the execution of the shell failed. SEE ALSO sh(1), execve(2), fork(2), waitpid(2), popen(3), posix_spawn(3) STANDARDS The system() function conforms to ISO/IEC 9899:1990 ("ISO C90") and is expected to be IEEE Std 1003.2 ("POSIX.2") compatible. SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS The system() function is easily misused in a manner that enables a ma- licious user to run arbitrary command, because all meta-characters sup- ported by sh(1) would be honored. User supplied parameters should al- ways be carefully santized before they appear in string. FreeBSD 13.2 July 25, 2015 SYSTEM(3)
NAME | LIBRARY | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | RETURN VALUES | SEE ALSO | STANDARDS | SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
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