Manual pages: use the term "exit status"

The manual pages currently use a multitude of terms--"exit code",
"error code", "return code", "exit code", and so on--when what
is always meant is "exit status" (the POSIX term). This patch fixes
as many of these erroneous terms as I could find.

Signed-off-by: Michael Kerrisk <mtk.manpages@gmail.com>

diff --git a/disk-utils/fsck.8 b/disk-utils/fsck.8
index e53333bca2617fbb5fd38f225fcb458f14622906..e9eec285146346dffcb4071785cf7451b7e0be5f 100644 (file)
--- a/disk-utils/fsck.8
+++ b/disk-utils/fsck.8
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ serially.  This is equivalent to the
 .B \-As
 options.
 .PP
-The exit code returned by
+The exit status returned by
 .B fsck
 is the sum of the following conditions:
 .PP
@@ -74,8 +74,8 @@ Shared-library error
 .PD
 .RE
 .PP
-The exit code returned when multiple filesystems are checked
-is the bit-wise OR of the exit codes for each
+The exit status returned when multiple filesystems are checked
+is the bit-wise OR of the exit statuses for each
 filesystem that is checked.
 .PP
 In actuality,
@@ -280,7 +280,7 @@ a progress bar at a time.  GUI front-ends may specify a file descriptor
 in which case the progress bar information will be sent to that file descriptor.
 .TP
 .B \-M
-Do not check mounted filesystems and return an exit code of 0
+Do not check mounted filesystems and return an exit status of 0
 for mounted filesystems.
 .TP
 .B \-N

diff --git a/disk-utils/fsck.minix.8 b/disk-utils/fsck.minix.8
index 600b1e2da5d88a320e6d18464c9cb9dabec8e9cc..0c26ed3ee8f57951c8f5483c1e62d4386a048b78 100644 (file)
--- a/disk-utils/fsck.minix.8
+++ b/disk-utils/fsck.minix.8
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ a MINIX filesystem,
 .B fsck.minix
 will print "bad magic number in super-block".
 .SH EXIT STATUS
-The exit code returned by
+The exit status returned by
 .B fsck.minix
 is the sum of the following:
 .PP
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ mounted
 Filesystem errors left uncorrected
 .TP
 .B 7
-Combination of exit codes 3 and 4
+Combination of exit statuses 3 and 4
 .TP
 .B 8
 Operational error
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ Usage or syntax error
 Linus Torvalds
 .ME
 .br
-Error code values by
+Exit status values by
 .MT faith@\:cs.\:unc.\:edu
 Rik Faith
 .ME

diff --git a/disk-utils/mkfs.8 b/disk-utils/mkfs.8
index e8edb0f4ad7cc9713ef8b1cb682a683f1f3f2571..deb00b2bb1ca3882f0e8ef3fe82eea8610ab2a01 100644 (file)
--- a/disk-utils/mkfs.8
+++ b/disk-utils/mkfs.8
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ or a regular file that shall contain the filesystem.  The
 .I size
 argument is the number of blocks to be used for the filesystem.
 .PP
-The exit code returned by
+The exit status returned by
 .B mkfs
 is 0 on success and 1 on failure.
 .PP

diff --git a/disk-utils/mkfs.bfs.8 b/disk-utils/mkfs.bfs.8
index ca0847227e390415190d062cdeff56ef97fbe006..722b8327b2a50b452729b39f2e541da8559e3a02 100644 (file)
--- a/disk-utils/mkfs.bfs.8
+++ b/disk-utils/mkfs.bfs.8
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ only works as
 .B \-\-version
 when it is the only option.
 .SH EXIT STATUS
-The exit code returned by
+The exit status returned by
 .B mkfs.bfs
 is 0 when all went well, and 1 when something went wrong.
 .SH SEE ALSO

diff --git a/disk-utils/mkfs.cramfs.8 b/disk-utils/mkfs.cramfs.8
index da7085027790907e9ef258074cd4f3aed9bae281..63158dd349844805d7fe0c20af5daddce80e0744 100644 (file)
--- a/disk-utils/mkfs.cramfs.8
+++ b/disk-utils/mkfs.cramfs.8
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ will contain the cram file system, which later can be mounted.
 Enable verbose messaging.
 .TP
 \fB\-E\fR
-Treat all warnings as errors, which are reflected as command return value.
+Treat all warnings as errors, which are reflected as command exit status.
 .TP
 \fB\-b\fR \fIblocksize\fR
 Use defined block size, which has to be divisible by page size.

diff --git a/disk-utils/mkfs.minix.8 b/disk-utils/mkfs.minix.8
index 9a6b26c54b7bfcaad1422a9fb918d7bb6ec1f7e1..a33d844aa5ce38dd9d0cc543d0452f7389930a33 100644 (file)
--- a/disk-utils/mkfs.minix.8
+++ b/disk-utils/mkfs.minix.8
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ with other options.
 \fB\-h\fR, \fB\-\-help\fR
 Display help text and exit.
 .SH EXIT STATUS
-The exit code returned by
+The exit status returned by
 .B mkfs.minix
 is one of the following:
 .IP 0

diff --git a/login-utils/nologin.8 b/login-utils/nologin.8
index 054ed73442b1728adc856733d2662a44b4935d9e..d7be1f90ee9fe51cc95fefc3fb01901fec9d4c95 100644 (file)
--- a/login-utils/nologin.8
+++ b/login-utils/nologin.8
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ intended as a replacement shell field to deny login access to an account.
 If the file /etc/nologin.txt exists, nologin displays its contents to the
 user instead of the default message.
 .PP
-The exit code returned by
+The exit status returned by
 .B nologin
 is always 1.
 .PP

diff --git a/misc-utils/blkid.8 b/misc-utils/blkid.8
index 6c0bbe43de5f9a16b85d591beb13af8e92a41b04..e6f2ec8fe087c768d8aa64b621a9995edc3a80a4 100644 (file)
--- a/misc-utils/blkid.8
+++ b/misc-utils/blkid.8
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ For security reasons
 .B blkid
 silently ignores all devices where the probing result is ambivalent (multiple
 colliding filesystems are detected).  The low-level probing mode (\fB\-p\fR)
-provides more information and extra return code in this case.
+provides more information and extra exit status in this case.
 It's recommended to use
 .BR wipefs (8)
 to get a detailed overview and to erase obsolete stuff (magic strings) from the device.
@@ -289,16 +289,16 @@ Display version number and exit.
 .SH EXIT STATUS
 If the specified device or device addressed by specified token (option
 \fB\-\-match\-token\fR) was found and it's possible to gather any information about the
-device, an exit code 0 is returned.  Note the option \fB\-\-match\-tag\fR filters output
-tags, but it does not affect return code.
+device, an exit status 0 is returned.  Note the option \fB\-\-match\-tag\fR filters output
+tags, but it does not affect exit status.
 
 If the specified token was not found, or no (specified) devices could be
 identified, or it is impossible to gather any information about the device
-identifiers or device content an exit code of 2 is returned.
+identifiers or device content an exit status of 2 is returned.
 
-For usage or other errors, an exit code of 4 is returned.
+For usage or other errors, an exit status of 4 is returned.
 
-If an ambivalent probing result was detected by low-level probing mode (\fB\-p\fR), an exit code of 8 is
+If an ambivalent probing result was detected by low-level probing mode (\fB\-p\fR), an exit status of 8 is
 returned.
 .SH CONFIGURATION FILE
 The standard location of the

diff --git a/misc-utils/kill.1 b/misc-utils/kill.1
index c0383faca487394a7c4643627cf87d731a466ad2..5c74301f5b00ab843de2cee167d45fd7ca388ab1 100644 (file)
--- a/misc-utils/kill.1
+++ b/misc-utils/kill.1
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ the executable is to use full path when calling the command, for example:
 .B "/bin/kill \-\-version"
 .SH EXIT STATUS
 .B kill
-has the following return codes:
+has the following exit status values:
 .PP
 .RS
 .PD 0

diff --git a/misc-utils/logger.1 b/misc-utils/logger.1
index 501ed938d9510af466dbd7aa2e8422cb2b38f9e0..67ca2111fd0940cc32a12d57a0c2ddeb7313f60d 100644 (file)
--- a/misc-utils/logger.1
+++ b/misc-utils/logger.1
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ before version 2.26 used openlog, and hence was unable to detected loss of
 messages sent to Unix sockets.
 .IP
 The default mode is \fBauto\fR.  When errors are not enabled lost messages are
-not communicated and will result to successful return value of
+not communicated and will result to successful exit status of
 .BR logger (1)
 invocation.
 .TP

diff --git a/sys-utils/chcpu.8 b/sys-utils/chcpu.8
index 7f94de53564dc56829c53bbf39499e4de2f9a286..10273f6e2ecc718765ec42a4a83fb332e38c5ce6 100644 (file)
--- a/sys-utils/chcpu.8
+++ b/sys-utils/chcpu.8
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ Display help text and exit.
 
 .SH EXIT STATUS
 .B chcpu
-has the following return codes:
+has the following exit status values:
 .TP
 .B 0
 success

diff --git a/sys-utils/chmem.8 b/sys-utils/chmem.8
index 21a8152c0755d043ca3eeb3cd66fef616a2eabc9..0727ceca1e1debf8a55e58016b7a654bdac06107 100644 (file)
--- a/sys-utils/chmem.8
+++ b/sys-utils/chmem.8
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ progress.
 Print the version number, then exit.
 .SH EXIT STATUS
 .B chmem
-has the following return codes:
+has the following exit status values:
 .TP
 .B 0
 success

diff --git a/sys-utils/fallocate.1 b/sys-utils/fallocate.1
index 0fc2ec97b4ef38c9091e2adb9429671fbdcbef38..9e214c73624030755c1adb3eb6fe1c76ec6db0d4 100644 (file)
--- a/sys-utils/fallocate.1
+++ b/sys-utils/fallocate.1
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ preallocation is done quickly by allocating blocks and marking them as
 uninitialized, requiring no IO to the data blocks.
 This is much faster than creating a file by filling it with zeroes.
 .PP
-The exit code returned by
+The exit status returned by
 .B fallocate
 is 0 on success and 1 on failure.
 .SH OPTIONS

diff --git a/sys-utils/flock.1 b/sys-utils/flock.1
index abcbc73ee96fca0ff0e8cfcc9f9819438e8194c3..0da5ea946673020503863b3b0f54eb6b147b1ec0 100644 (file)
--- a/sys-utils/flock.1
+++ b/sys-utils/flock.1
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ Pass a single \fIcommand\fR, without arguments, to the shell with
 .BR \-c .
 .TP
 .BR \-E , " \-\-conflict\-exit\-code " \fInumber
-The exit code used when the \fB\-n\fP option is in use, and the
+The exit status used when the \fB\-n\fP option is in use, and the
 conflicting lock exists, or the \fB\-w\fP option is in use,
 and the timeout is reached.  The default value is \fB1\fR.
 .TP
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ Fail rather than wait if the lock cannot be
 immediately acquired.
 See the
 .B \-E
-option for the exit code used.
+option for the exit status used.
 .TP
 .BR \-o , " \-\-close"
 Close the file descriptor on which the lock is held before executing
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ Fail if the lock cannot be acquired within
 Decimal fractional values are allowed.
 See the
 .B \-E
-option for the exit code used. The zero number of
+option for the exit status used. The zero number of
 .I seconds
 is interpreted as \fB\-\-nonblock\fR.
 .TP
@@ -178,11 +178,11 @@ then flock is used to lock the descriptor.
 .SH EXIT STATUS
 The command uses
 .B sysexits.h
-return values for everything, except when using either of the options
+exit status values for everything, except when using either of the options
 .B \-n
 or
 .B \-w
-which report a failure to acquire the lock with a return value given by the
+which report a failure to acquire the lock with a exit status given by the
 .B \-E
 option, or 1 by default.
 .PP

diff --git a/sys-utils/mount.8 b/sys-utils/mount.8
index a9df585ce152be482d7cec7aad943f410550d876..d3170ec7145e083d0245293f0b4bc37e9b4c679d 100644 (file)
--- a/sys-utils/mount.8
+++ b/sys-utils/mount.8
@@ -2503,7 +2503,7 @@ a filesystem corruption.
 
 .SH EXIT STATUS
 .B mount
-has the following return codes (the bits can be ORed):
+has the following exit status values (the bits can be ORed):
 .TP
 .B 0
 success

diff --git a/sys-utils/setpriv.1 b/sys-utils/setpriv.1
index 5fb4dec20b2f8b3162864e4f2abafce8f62eca0a..39d274a2fd2e8545013c6e8895346a02ecee08ac 100644 (file)
--- a/sys-utils/setpriv.1
+++ b/sys-utils/setpriv.1
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ If applying any specified option fails,
 .I program
 will not be run and
 .B setpriv
-will return with exit code 127.
+will return with exit status 127.
 .PP
 Be careful with this tool \-\- it may have unexpected security consequences.
 For example, setting no_new_privs and then execing a program that is

diff --git a/sys-utils/setsid.1 b/sys-utils/setsid.1
index e4a9154546f60359221267eda778971ced8ea82f..e694ef8015f53f52680d2a782a43e32ec0c20aae 100644 (file)
--- a/sys-utils/setsid.1
+++ b/sys-utils/setsid.1
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@ Set the controlling terminal to the current one.
 Always create a new process.
 .TP
 .BR \-w , " \-\-wait"
-Wait for the execution of the program to end, and return the exit value of
-this program as the return value of
+Wait for the execution of the program to end, and return the exit status of
+this program as the exit status of
 .BR setsid .
 .TP
 .BR \-V , " \-\-version"

diff --git a/term-utils/script.1 b/term-utils/script.1
index daf4a6ff38d442c43a6f86f28418999b091aca33..52f624754b4555fb84f33ef16d63ec3520621369 100644 (file)
--- a/term-utils/script.1
+++ b/term-utils/script.1
@@ -104,8 +104,8 @@ terminal to avoid double-echo, and enabled if standard input is not terminal
 to avoid missing input in the session log.
 .TP
 \fB\-e\fR, \fB\-\-return\fR
-Return the exit code of the child process.  Uses the same format as bash
-termination on signal termination exit code is 128+n.  The exit code of
+Return the exit status of the child process.  Uses the same format as bash
+termination on signal termination exit status is 128+n.  The exit status of
 the child process is always stored in type script file too.
 .TP
 \fB\-f\fR, \fB\-\-flush\fR