From 1e0d99b89969ff63ae76640f63b3ce868d1441fb Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Dave Martin Date: Tue, 12 May 2020 17:36:46 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] prctl.2: Clarify that prctl can apply to threads The current synopsis for prctl(2) misleadingly claims that prctl operates on a process. Rather, some (in fact, most) prctls operate on a thread. The wording probably dates back to the old days when Linux didn't really have threads at all. Reword as appropriate. Signed-off-by: Dave Martin Signed-off-by: Michael Kerrisk --- man2/prctl.2 | 6 +++++- 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/man2/prctl.2 b/man2/prctl.2 index 43edfe16f..67b3f17ec 100644 --- a/man2/prctl.2 +++ b/man2/prctl.2 @@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ .\" .TH PRCTL 2 2020-04-11 "Linux" "Linux Programmer's Manual" .SH NAME -prctl \- operations on a process +prctl \- operations on a process or thread .SH SYNOPSIS .nf .B #include @@ -63,6 +63,10 @@ prctl \- operations on a process .fi .SH DESCRIPTION .BR prctl () +manipulates various aspects of the behavior +of the calling thread or process. +.PP +.BR prctl () is called with a first argument describing what to do (with values defined in \fI\fP), and further arguments with a significance depending on the first one.