Name
lockfile
Synopsis
lockfile [options
]filenames
Creates semaphore file(s), used to limit access to a file. When
lockfile
fails to create some of the specified
files, it pauses for 8 seconds and retries the last one on which it
failed. The command processes flags as they are encountered (i.e., a
flag that is specified after a file will not affect that file).
Options
-
-
sleeptime Time
lockfile
waits before retrying after a failed creation attempt. Default is 8 seconds.-
-!
Invert return value. Useful in shell scripts.
-
-l
lockout_time
Time (in seconds) after a lockfile was last modified at which it will be removed by force. See also
-s
.-
-ml
,-mu
If the permissions on the system mail spool directory allow it or if
lockfile
is suitably setgid, it can lock and unlock your system mailbox with the options-ml
and-mu
, respectively.-
-r
retries
Stop trying to create files after retries retries. The default is -1 (never stop trying). When giving up, remove all created files.
-
-s
suspend_time
After a lockfile has been removed by force (see
-l
), a suspension of 16 seconds takes place by default. (This is intended to prevent the inadvertent immediate removal of any lockfile newly created by another program.) Use-s
to change the default 16 seconds.
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