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doc: simplify system call material in doc overview #27966

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doc: simplify system call material in doc overview #27966

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16 changes: 5 additions & 11 deletions doc/api/documentation.md
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Expand Up @@ -51,20 +51,14 @@ added: v0.6.12
Every `.html` document has a corresponding `.json` document. This is for IDEs
and other utilities that consume the documentation.

## Syscalls and man pages
## System calls and man pages

System calls like open(2) and read(2) define the interface between user programs
and the underlying operating system. Node.js functions
which wrap a syscall,
like [`fs.open()`][], will document that. The docs link to the corresponding man
pages (short for manual pages) which describe how the syscalls work.
Node.js functions which wrap a system call will document that. The docs link
to the corresponding man pages which describe how the system call works.

Most Unix syscalls have Windows equivalents, but behavior may differ on Windows
relative to Linux and macOS. For an example of the subtle ways in which it's
sometimes impossible to replace Unix syscall semantics on Windows, see [Node.js
issue 4760](https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/4760).
Most Unix system calls have Windows analogues. Still, behavior differences may
be unavoidable.

[`fs.open()`]: fs.html#fs_fs_open_path_flags_mode_callback
[the contributing guide]: https://github.com/nodejs/node/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md
[the issue tracker]: https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/new
[V8 JavaScript engine]: https://v8.dev/
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