key The key for which the associated semaphore identifier is returned. nsems Value used to initialize the sem_nsems member of the semid_ds data structure. See the description. semflg Flag used to initialize the low-order 9 bits of the sem_perm.mode member of the semid_ds data structure associated with the new semaphore. See the description. value The initial value to be given to the semaphore. This argument is used only when the semaphore is being created.