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std::abort

Defined in header `<cstdlib>`
void abort();		(until C++11)
[[noreturn]] void abort() noexcept;		(since C++11)

Causes abnormal program termination unless SIGABRT is being caught by a signal handler passed to std::signal and the handler does not return.

Destructors of variables with automatic, thread local (since C++11) and static storage durations are not called. Functions registered with std::atexit() and std::at_quick_exit (since C++11) are also not called. Whether open resources such as files are closed is implementation defined. An implementation defined status is returned to the host environment that indicates unsuccessful execution.

Parameters

(none).

Return value

None because it does not return.

Exceptions

Throws nothing.

Notes

POSIX specifies that the abort() function overrides blocking or ignoring the SIGABRT signal.

Some compiler intrinsics, e.g. __builtin_trap (gcc, clang, and icc) or __debugbreak (msvc), can be used to terminate the program as fast as possible.

Example

#include <csignal>
#include <iostream>
#include <cstdlib>
 
class Tester {
public:
    Tester()  { std::cout << "Tester ctor\n"; }
    ~Tester() { std::cout << "Tester dtor\n"; }
};
 
Tester static_tester; // Destructor not called
 
void signal_handler(int signal) 
{
    if (signal == SIGABRT) {
        std::cerr << "SIGABRT received\n";
    } else {
        std::cerr << "Unexpected signal " << signal << " received\n";
    }
    std::_Exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
 
int main()
{
    Tester automatic_tester; // Destructor not called
 
    // Setup handler
    auto previous_handler = std::signal(SIGABRT, signal_handler);
    if (previous_handler == SIG_ERR) {
        std::cerr << "Setup failed\n";
        return EXIT_FAILURE;
    }
 
    std::abort();  // Raise SIGABRT
    std::cout << "This code is unreachable\n";
}

Output:

Tester ctor
Tester ctor
SIGABRT received

exit	causes normal program termination with cleaning up (function)
atexit	registers a function to be called on `std::exit()` invocation (function)
quick_exit (C++11)	causes quick program termination without completely cleaning up (function)
at_quick_exit (C++11)	registers a function to be called on `std::quick_exit` invocation (function)
signal	sets a signal handler for particular signal (function)
terminate	function called when exception handling fails (function)
C documentation for `abort`