devfree(1M)

devfree -- release devices from exclusive use

Synopsis

devfree key [device . . . ]

Description

devfree releases devices from exclusive use. Exclusive use is requested with the command devreserv.

When devfree is invoked with only the key argument, it releases all devices that have been reserved for that key. When called with key and device arguments, devfree releases the specified devices that have been reserved with that key.

Command options

key: Designates the unique key on which the device was reserved.
device: Defines device that this command will release from exclusive use. Can be the pathname of the device or the device alias.

Files

/etc/device.tab
/etc/devlkfile

Usage

The commands devreserv and devfree are used to manage the availability of devices on a system. These commands do not place any constraints on the access to the device. They serve only as a centralized bookkeeping point for those who wish to use them. Processes that do not use devreserv may concurrently use a device with a process that has reserved that device.

Return values

devfree returns one of the following values:

0: Successful completion of the task.
1: Command syntax incorrect, invalid option used, or internal error occurred.
2: Device table or device reservation table could not be opened for reading.
3: Reservation release could not be completely fulfilled because one or more of the devices was not reserved or was not reserved on the specified key.

References

devreserv(1M)