From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.2 (2018-09-13) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS, MAILING_LIST_MULTI,RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.2 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (minnie.tuhs.org [45.79.103.53]) by inbox.vuxu.org (OpenSMTPD) with ESMTP id 2c906953 for ; Wed, 7 Aug 2019 02:36:17 +0000 (UTC) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id F19319BB5F; Wed, 7 Aug 2019 12:36:15 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id CC5A29BA34; Wed, 7 Aug 2019 12:35:57 +1000 (AEST) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id C6FDB9BA25; Wed, 7 Aug 2019 12:35:55 +1000 (AEST) Received: from viclamta35p.bpe.bigpond.com (viclamta35p.bpe.bigpond.com [203.38.21.99]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id C8F949BA1D for ; Wed, 7 Aug 2019 12:35:54 +1000 (AEST) Received: from smtp.telstra.com ([10.10.26.4]) by viclafep35p-svc.bpe.nexus.telstra.com.au with ESMTP id <20190807023552.MJIL18281.viclafep35p-svc.bpe.nexus.telstra.com.au@smtp.telstra.com> for ; Wed, 7 Aug 2019 12:35:52 +1000 X-RG-Spam: Unknown X-RazorGate-Vade: gggruggvucftvghtrhhoucdtuddrgeduvddrudduuddgiedvucetufdoteggodetrfdotffvucfrrhhofhhilhgvmecuuffpveftpgfvgffnuffvtfetpdfqfgfvnecuuegrihhlohhuthemuceftddtnecunecujfgurhepfffhvffujgfkfhgfgggtsehttddttddtredvnecuhfhrohhmpeffrghvvgcujfhorhhsfhgrlhhluceouggrvhgvsehhohhrshhfrghllhdrohhrgheqnecukfhppeduuddtrddugedurdduleefrddvfeefnecurfgrrhgrmhephhgvlhhopegrnhgvuhhrihhnrdhhohhrshhfrghllhdrohhrghdpihhnvghtpeduuddtrddugedurdduleefrddvfeefpdhmrghilhhfrhhomhepoegurghvvgeshhhorhhsfhgrlhhlrdhorhhgqedprhgtphhtthhopeeothhuhhhssehtuhhhshdrohhrgheqnecuvehluhhsthgvrhfuihiivgeptd X-RazorGate-Vade-Verdict: clean 0 X-RazorGate-Vade-Classification: clean X-RG-VS-CLASS: clean Received: from aneurin.horsfall.org (110.141.193.233) by smtp.telstra.com (5.8.335) id 5D49251C00253BD8 for tuhs@tuhs.org; Wed, 7 Aug 2019 12:35:51 +1000 Received: from aneurin.horsfall.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by aneurin.horsfall.org (8.15.2/8.15.2) with ESMTP id x772ZpT6083139 for ; Wed, 7 Aug 2019 12:35:51 +1000 (EST) (envelope-from dave@horsfall.org) Received: from localhost (dave@localhost) by aneurin.horsfall.org (8.15.2/8.15.2/Submit) with ESMTP id x772Zoo9083136 for ; Wed, 7 Aug 2019 12:35:51 +1000 (EST) (envelope-from dave@horsfall.org) X-Authentication-Warning: aneurin.horsfall.org: dave owned process doing -bs Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2019 12:35:49 +1000 (EST) From: Dave Horsfall To: The Eunuchs Hysterical Society In-Reply-To: <20190801234351.04A9118C0A1@mercury.lcs.mit.edu> Message-ID: References: <20190801234351.04A9118C0A1@mercury.lcs.mit.edu> User-Agent: Alpine 2.21.9999 (BSF 287 2018-06-16) X-GPG-Public-Key: http://www.horsfall.org/gpgkey.pub X-GPG-Fingerprint: 05B4 FFBC 0218 B438 66E0 587B EF46 7357 EF5E F58B X-Home-Page: http://www.horsfall.org/ X-Witty-Saying: "chmod 666 the_mode_of_the_beast" MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed Subject: Re: [TUHS] Who's behind the UNIX filesystem permission X-BeenThere: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.26 Precedence: list List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org Sender: "TUHS" On Thu, 1 Aug 2019, Noel Chiappa wrote: > Maybe the application was written by a LISP programmer? :-) > > (Not really, of course; it was probably just someone who didn't know much > about Unix. They had a list of system calls, and 'unlink' probably said ' only > works on directories when the caller is root', so...) I dimly recall that there was a little-documented utility /etc/unlink which did just that; it was probably not on all systems, but was on our CCI Power 6/32. I only discovered their incompetence at the next reboot, when I had to clean up all the orphaned (but temporary) files that were left behind because [idn]check went berserk (we didn't have fsck back then). -- Dave