EXEC(II)                     8/5/73                      EXEC(II)







NAME

     exec  -  execute a file



SYNOPSIS

     (exec = 11.

     sys exec; name; args

     ...

     name: <...\0>

     ...

     args: arg1; arg2; ...; 0

     arg1: <...\0>

     arg2: <...\0>

        ...



     execl(name, arg1, arg2, ..., argn, 0)

     char *name, *arg1, *arg2, ..., *argn;



     execv(name, argv)

     char *name;

     char *argv[ ];



DESCRIPTION

     Exec overlays the calling process with the named file,  then

     transfers  to  the  beginning of the core image of the file.

     There can be no return from the file; the calling core image

     is lost.



     Files remain open across exec calls.  Ignored signals remain

     ignored  across  exec, but signals that are caught are reset

     to their default values.



     Each user has a real user ID and group ID and  an  effective

     user  ID  and  group  ID  (The real ID identifies the person

     using the system; the effective  ID  determines  his  access

     privileges.)   Exec  changes the effective user and group ID

     to the owner of the  executed  file  if  the  file  has  the

     ``set-user-ID'' or ``set-group-ID'' modes.  The real user ID

     is not affected.



     The form of this call differs somewhat depending on  whether

     it  is called from assembly language or C; see below for the

     C version.



     The first argument to exec is a pointer to the name  of  the

     file  to  be executed.  The second is the address of a null-

     terminated list of pointers to arguments to be passed to the

     file.  Conventionally, the first argument is the name of the

     file.  Each pointer addresses a string terminated by a  null

     byte.



     Once the called file starts  execution,  the  arguments  are

     available  as  follows.   The stack pointer points to a word

     containing the number of arguments.  Just above this  number

     is  a  list  of  pointers  to  the  argument  strings.   The

     arguments are placed as high as possible in core.



       sp->  nargs

             arg1

             ...

             argn



      arg1:  <arg1\0>

             ...

      argn:  <argn\0>



     From C, two intefaces are available.  execl is useful when a

     known  file  with  known  arguments  is  being  called;  the

     arguments to execl are the  character  strings  constituting

     the  file and the arguments; as in the basic call, the first

     argument is conventionally the same as the file name (or its

     last component).  A 0 argument must end the argument list.



     The execv version is useful when the number of arguments  is

     unknown  in  advance; the arguments to execv are the name of

     the file to be executed and a vector of  strings  containing

     the arguments.  The last argument string must be followed by

     a 0 pointer.



     When a C program is executed, it is called as follows:



             main(argc, argv)

             int argc;

             char *argv[];



     where argc is the argument count and argv  is  an  array  of

     character   pointers   to   the  arguments  themselves.   As

     indicated, argc is conventionally at least one and the first

     member  of  the array points to a string containing the name

     of the file.



     Argv  is  not  directly  usable  in  another  execv,   since

     argv[argc] is -1 and not 0.



SEE ALSO

     fork(II)



DIAGNOSTICS

     If the file cannot be found, if it is not executable, if  it

     does  not  have  a  valid  header (407 or 410 octal as first

     word), if maximum memory is exceeded, or  if  the  arguments

     require  more  than 512 bytes a return from exec constitutes

     the diagnostic; the error bit (c-bit) is set.   From  C  the

     returned value is -1.



BUGS

     Only 512 characters of arguments are allowed.