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ENOTNAM
ENOTNAM: Linux legacy errno
ENOTNAM (errno 3) reports that a XENIX named-file operation was applied to an object that is not a named-type file. These names come from historical System V/XENIX compatibility interfaces; on modern Linux they usually point to a driver, STREAMS-compatibility layer, or legacy IPC contract rather than a general filesystem error.
Evidence to capture
Record path, inode/file type, mount/filesystem, and named-file operation. Save errno immediately after the failing call, together with its return value, because later library or logging calls can overwrite thread-local error state.
Focused test
stat the target and compare the operation with a known XENIX named-type object. Keep the process, device/endpoint and deployed driver version fixed so the comparison changes only the suspected boundary.
Correction
select the correct named object or use an API appropriate for the actual file type. If the interface is provided by a compatibility driver, verify its documented ABI and object lifetime instead of assuming that a numerically similar errno from another UNIX has the same contract.
Verification
Repeat the original system call and confirm it passes the former ENOTNAM boundary with the same object identity. If another errno appears, preserve it as a separate result from the next failing operation.
Technical references
- Linux man-pages: errno(3)
- Linux kernel: asm-generic errno definitions
- GNU C Library: error codes
- illumos: STREAMS programming documentation
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