.\" This file is derived from unlink.2, which has the following copyright:
.\"
-.\" --snip--
.\" This manpage is Copyright (C) 1992 Drew Eckhardt;
-.\" 1993 Ian Jackson.
+.\" and Copyright (C) 1993 Ian Jackson.
.\"
+.\" Edited into remove.3 shape by:
+.\" Graeme W. Wilford (G.Wilford@ee.surrey.ac.uk) on 13th July 1994
+.\"
+.\" %%%LICENSE_START(VERBATIM)
.\" Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
.\" manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
.\" preserved on all copies.
.\" manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
.\" entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
.\" permission notice identical to this one.
-.\"
+.\"
.\" Since the Linux kernel and libraries are constantly changing, this
.\" manual page may be incorrect or out-of-date. The author(s) assume no
.\" responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from
.\" have taken the same level of care in the production of this manual,
.\" which is licensed free of charge, as they might when working
.\" professionally.
-.\"
+.\"
.\" Formatted or processed versions of this manual, if unaccompanied by
.\" the source, must acknowledge the copyright and authors of this work.
-.\" --snip--
+.\" %%%LICENSE_END
.\"
-.\" Edited into remove.3 shape by:
-.\" Graeme W. Wilford (G.Wilford@ee.surrey.ac.uk) on 13th July 1994
-.\"
-.TH REMOVE 3 1994-07-13 Linux "GNU"
+.TH REMOVE 3 2017-09-15 "GNU" "Linux Programmer's Manual"
.SH NAME
-remove \- delete a name and possibly the file it refers to
+remove \- remove a file or directory
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B #include <stdio.h>
-.sp
+.PP
.BI "int remove(const char *" pathname );
.SH DESCRIPTION
-.B remove
+.BR remove ()
deletes a name from the filesystem.
It calls
-.I unlink
+.BR unlink (2)
for files, and
-.I rmdir
+.BR rmdir (2)
for directories.
-
+.PP
If the removed name was the
-last link to a file and no processes have the file open the file is
+last link to a file and no processes have the file open, the file is
deleted and the space it was using is made available for reuse.
-
-If the name was the last link to a file but any processes still have
-the file open the file will remain in existence until the last file
+.PP
+If the name was the last link to a file,
+but any processes still have the file open,
+the file will remain in existence until the last file
descriptor referring to it is closed.
-
-If the name referred to a symbolic link the link is removed.
-
-If the name referred to a socket, fifo or device the name for it is
-removed but processes which have the object open may continue to use
-it.
-.SH "RETURN VALUE"
-On success, zero is returned. On error, \-1 is returned, and
+.PP
+If the name referred to a symbolic link, the link is removed.
+.PP
+If the name referred to a socket, FIFO, or device, the name is removed,
+but processes which have the object open may continue to use it.
+.SH RETURN VALUE
+On success, zero is returned.
+On error, \-1 is returned, and
.I errno
is set appropriately.
.SH ERRORS
.BR unlink (2)
and
.BR rmdir (2).
-.SH "CONFORMING TO"
-ANSI C, SVID, AT&T, POSIX, X/OPEN, BSD 4.3
+.SH ATTRIBUTES
+For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see
+.BR attributes (7).
+.TS
+allbox;
+lb lb lb
+l l l.
+Interface Attribute Value
+T{
+.BR remove ()
+T} Thread safety MT-Safe
+.TE
+.SH CONFORMING TO
+POSIX.1-2001, POSIX.1-2008, C89, C99, 4.3BSD.
+.\" .SH NOTES
+.\" Under libc4 and libc5,
+.\" .BR remove ()
+.\" was an alias for
+.\" .BR unlink (2)
+.\" (and hence would not remove directories).
.SH BUGS
Infelicities in the protocol underlying NFS can cause the unexpected
disappearance of files which are still being used.
-.SH NOTE
-Under libc4 and libc5,
-.B remove
-was an alias for unlink (and hence would not remove directories).
-.SH "SEE ALSO"
+.SH SEE ALSO
.BR rm (1),
+.BR unlink (1),
.BR link (2),
.BR mknod (2),
.BR open (2),
.BR rmdir (2),
.BR unlink (2),
.BR mkfifo (3),
-.BR unlink (8)
+.BR symlink (7)