Writing own VFS module (return values and errno)

[David Collier-Brown]

Timo Neuvonen wrote:
> When the actual rename function is working ok (returns 0), but the
> additional code I've put into the VFS module thereafter fails, does it
> really make any _practical_ difference which value I give to 'errno'? I
> mean, should it be possible to at least try to control what kind of error
> message is displayed to the workstation user?

	Yes, you should try to return the values which are
	in the POSIX man page for rename, which is often
	a subset of the values returnable on Linux.

EACCES A component of  either  path  prefix  denies search permission;
EBUSY  The new argument is the mount point for a mounted file system.
EDQUOT The user's quota has been exhausted.
EEXIST The link named by new is  a  directory  containing  entries
	other than `.' (the directory itself) and  `..'
EFAULT Either old  or  new  references  an  invalid address.
EINVAL The new argument directory pathname contains
        a  path prefix that names the old directory,
        or an attempt was made to rename  a  regular
        file  to  an  extended  attribute
EISDIR The new argument points to a  directory  but
        old  points  to  a file that is not a directory.
ELOOP Too many symbolic links were encountered
ENAMETOOLONG The length of old or new exceeds PATH_MAX
EMLINK  The file named by old is  a  directory,  and
         the  link  count of  the parent directory of
         new would exceed  LINK_MAX.
ENOENT  The link named by old does  not  exist,   or
         either old or new points to an empty string.
ENOSPC  The directory that would contain new  cannot be extended.
ENOTDIR A component of either path prefix is  not  a
         directory,  or old names a directory and new
         names a nondirectory file
EROFS   The requested operation requires writing in
         a directory on a read-only file system.
EXDEV   The links named by old and new are  on  different file systems.
EIO      An I/O error occurred while making or updating a directory


> 
> There is propably a problem of missing documentation of Microsoft when it
> comes to Windows workstations, but is Nautilus file browser with Samba
> client for example supposed to try to show different error messages
> depending on the errno value returned by low-level Samba functions? What
> I've tried so far (Nautilus 2.10.0 on FC4 Linux + Samba 3.0.14a), the error
> message seems always be the same "You do not have the permissions necessary
> to rename xx" (*. This happens with the correct errno value EACCESS that
> Samba returns due to lack of permissions, and at least with values ENOSYS
> and ECANCELED I've tried by now.

	Most GUIs use the messages in errno.h, rather than the more
	specific ones in the man pages.
> 
> Is there some errno value I could use in rename function of my own, that is
> at least _expected_ to appear to the user like something else, maybe like
> "unknown error" or "rename operation failed with unpredictable results". I
> understand that the final verbal message may be produced by some completely
> different software but Samba, but are these different error codes passed at
> all to the user's client software, or are they effectively only for internal
> use of Samba?
> 
	I'd reccomend EIO, which sounds like something you should
	try again...

--dave
-- 
David Collier-Brown,      | Always do right. This will gratify
Sun Microsystems, Toronto | some people and astonish the rest
davecb at canada.sun.com     |                      -- Mark Twain
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