function
<cstdlib>

exit

void exit (int status);

[[noreturn]] void exit (int status);
Terminate calling process
Terminates the process normally, performing the regular cleanup for terminating programs.

Normal program termination performs the following (in the same order):
  • Objects associated with the current thread with thread storage duration are destroyed (C++11 only).
  • Objects with static storage duration are destroyed (C++) and functions registered with atexit are called.
  • All C streams (open with functions in <cstdio>) are closed (and flushed, if buffered), and all files created with tmpfile are removed.
  • Control is returned to the host environment.

Note that objects with automatic storage are not destroyed by calling exit (C++).

If status is zero or EXIT_SUCCESS, a successful termination status is returned to the host environment.
If status is EXIT_FAILURE, an unsuccessful termination status is returned to the host environment.
Otherwise, the status returned depends on the system and library implementation.

For a similar function that does not perform the cleanup described above, see quick_exit.

Parameters

status
Status code.
If this is 0 or EXIT_SUCCESS, it indicates success.
If it is EXIT_FAILURE, it indicates failure.

Return Value

none (the function never returns).

Example

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/* exit example */
#include <stdio.h>      /* printf, fopen */
#include <stdlib.h>     /* exit, EXIT_FAILURE */

int main ()
{
  FILE * pFile;
  pFile = fopen ("myfile.txt","r");
  if (pFile==NULL)
  {
    printf ("Error opening file");
    exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
  }
  else
  {
    /* file operations here */
  }
  return 0;
}


Data races

Calling this function destroys all objects with static duration: A program with multiple threads running shall not call exit (see quick_exit for a similar function that does not affect static objects).

Exceptions (C++)

No-throw guarantee: this function never throws exceptions.

If the program termination process described above throws an exception, terminate is automatically called.

See also

abort
Abort current process (function )
atexit
Set function to be executed on exit (function )

C++