Understanding System Calls in Linux
System calls are fundamental mechanisms that allow user-space
applications to request services from the Linux kernel. They serve as the
interface between user programs and the operating system kernel.
What Are System Calls?
System calls are:
Special functions that provide controlled entry points into the kernel
The only way user programs can access hardware and system resources
Protected operations that switch the CPU to privileged mode
Common Linux System Call Categories
1. Process Control
o fork() - Create new process
o exec() - Execute program
o exit() - Terminate process
o wait() - Wait for process to change state
2. File Management
o open() - Open or create file
o read()/write() - File I/O operations
o close() - Close file descriptor
o stat() - Get file status
3. Device Management
o ioctl() - Device-specific operations
o read()/write() - Also used for devices
4. Information Maintenance
o getpid() - Get process ID
o time() - Get system time
o sysinfo() - Get system statistics
5. Communication
o pipe() - Create interprocess channel
o shmget() - Shared memory operations
o msgget() - Message queue operations
How System Calls Work
1. Invocation: User program calls a wrapper function from standard library
2. Transition: CPU switches from user mode to kernel mode
3. Execution: Kernel verifies parameters and performs requested operation
4. Return: Kernel returns result to user space
Key Technical Details
Each system call has a unique number (defined in syscall.h)
On x86-64, system calls are invoked using the syscall instruction
Parameters are passed through registers (RAX for syscall number, RDI,
RSI, RDX, etc. for arguments)
Return values are placed in RAX register
Viewing System Calls
You can monitor system calls using:
bash
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strace command # Trace system calls of a command
strace -p PID # Trace running process
ltrace # Similar but for library calls
Examples
1. Simple write system call in C:
c
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#include <unistd.h>
int main() {
write(1, "Hello\n", 6); // 1 is stdout file descriptor
return 0;
}
2. Making a direct system call in x86-64 assembly (for exit):
asm
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mov rax, 60 ; syscall number for exit
mov rdi, 0 ; exit status
syscall ; invoke system call
Important Notes
System calls are relatively expensive due to context switching
Modern programs minimize direct system calls through buffering and
other optimizations
The set of available system calls varies slightly between Linux versions
and architectures
Would you like more detailed information about any specific aspect of
Linux system calls?
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