sync (2)

NAME

       sync - commit buffer cache to disk.

SYNOPSIS

       #include <unistd.h>

       void sync(void);

DESCRIPTION

       sync first commits inodes to buffers, and then buffers to disk.

CONFORMING TO

       SVr4, SVID, X/OPEN, BSD 4.3

BUGS

       According  to the standard specification (e.g., SVID), sync() schedules
       the writes, but may return before the actual writing is done.  However,
       since  version  1.3.20  Linux does actually wait.  (This still does not
       guarantee data integrity: modern disks have large caches.)

NOTES

       Since glibc 2.2.2 the Linux prototype is as listed above, following the
       various  standards.  In libc4, libc5, and glibc up to 2.2.1 it was "int
       sync(void)", and sync always returned 0.

SEE ALSO

       bdflush(2), fsync(2), fdatasync(2), update(8), sync(8)

Linux 2.4                         2001-10-10                           sync(2)