POSIX_FADVISE(2)

NAME
posix_fadvise - hint at the future access pattern of a file

LIBRARY
libc

SYNOPSIS
#include <fcntl.h>
int
posix_fadvise(int fd, off_t offset, off_t size, int hint);

DESCRIPTION
posix_fadvise() hints at the application's access pattern to the file and range given by the file descriptor, fd, and offset and size. If size is zero, it means to the end of file.

hint should be one of the followings.

POSIX_FADV_NORMAL
    No hint. (default)
POSIX_FADV_RANDOM
    Random access.
POSIX_FADV_SEQUENTIAL
    Sequential access. (from lower offset to higher offset.)
POSIX_FADV_WILLNEED
    Will be accessed.
POSIX_FADV_DONTNEED
    Will not be accessed.
POSIX_FADV_NOREUSE
    Will be accessed just once.

Calling posix_fadvise() doesn't alter the semantics of the operations, it is only a matter of performance.

RETURN VALUES
On success, posix_fadvise() returns 0. Otherwise, it returns an error number.

SEE ALSO
errno(2), madvise(2)

BUGS
For POSIX_FADV_NORMAL, POSIX_FADV_RANDOM, and POSIX_FADV_SEQUENTIAL, the current implementation ignores offset and size, and applies the hint to the whole file.