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EXIT(3) FreeBSD Library Functions Manual EXIT(3)
NAME exit, _Exit - perform normal program termination
LIBRARY Standard C Library (libc, -lc)
SYNOPSIS #include <stdlib.h>
void exit(int status);
void _Exit(int status);
DESCRIPTION The exit() and _Exit() functions terminate a process.
Before termination, exit() performs the following functions in the order listed:
1. Call all functions registered with the __cxa_atexit(3) function (which are typically destructors from the loaded dynamic objects), and the functions registered with the atexit(3) function, in the reverse order of their registration.
2. Flush all open output streams.
3. Close all open streams.
The _Exit() function terminates without calling the functions registered with the atexit(3) function, and may or may not perform the other actions listed. The FreeBSD implementation of the _Exit() function does not call destructors registered with __cxa_atexit(3,) does not flush buffers, and does not close streams.
Both functions make the low-order eight bits of the status argument available to a parent process which has called a wait(2)-family function.
The C Standard (ISO/IEC 9899:1999 ("ISO C99")) defines the values 0, EXIT_SUCCESS, and EXIT_FAILURE as possible values of status. Cooperating processes may use other values; in a program which might be called by a mail transfer agent, the values described in sysexits(3) may be used to provide more information to the parent process.
Note that exit() does nothing to prevent bottomless recursion should a function registered using atexit(3) itself call exit(). Such functions must call _Exit() instead (although this has other effects as well which may not be desired).
RETURN VALUES The exit() and _Exit() functions never return.
SEE ALSO _exit(2), abort2(2), wait(2), at_quick_exit(3), atexit(3), intro(3), quick_exit(3), sysexits(3), tmpfile(3)
FreeBSD 14.0-RELEASE-p11 August 5, 2021 FreeBSD 14.0-RELEASE-p11