errno 60 (ENOSTR): meaning and diagnosis

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: a STREAMS-style operation was attempted on an object that is not a stream.

Could be also:
Constant	Type	OS
ERROR_BAD_REM_ADAP	Win32 error	Windows
ETIMEDOUT	errno	Mac
ENOSTR	errno	Solaris
INTERRUPT_UNWIND_ATTEMPTED	BugCheck Code	Windows

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ENOSTR

ENOSTR belongs to the STREAMS vocabulary that Linux keeps in its UAPI errno namespace for source and ABI compatibility. Mainstream Linux file descriptors are not System V STREAMS objects, so this value usually points to ported code, a compatibility layer, or a driver-style interface that is preserving traditional STREAMS error names.

When it appears in Linux diagnostics, the important question is not “which pathname is missing,” but which layer expected a stream abstraction. Check the exact ioctl, module, library wrapper, and descriptor type that produced the result.

Useful checks

Confirm whether the failing code is a STREAMS port or an emulation layer.
Record the descriptor source: device node, pipe, socket, pseudo-terminal, or library handle.
Do not replace this automatically with ENOTTY; that changes the API contract.

Linux errno(3) · Linux UAPI errno definitions

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