Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site rlgvax.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!rlgvax!guy From: guy@rlgvax.UUCP (Guy Harris) Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards Subject: Re: hazards of linking directories Message-ID: <172@rlgvax.UUCP> Date: Mon, 8-Oct-84 21:37:56 EDT Article-I.D.: rlgvax.172 Posted: Mon Oct 8 21:37:56 1984 Date-Received: Wed, 10-Oct-84 06:03:54 EDT References: <12762@sri-arpa.UUCP> Organization: CCI Office Systems Group, Reston, VA Lines: 32 > But, more seriously: a line printer spooler that "spools" by > LINKING the print file into the spool directory??? What if you > make changes in the file between the queue time and the time it > is actually printed? When I say "lpr foo" I assume that "foo" is > conceptually being printed RIGHT NOW, and that the spooling > mechanism exists only to make efficient use of a resource (the > printer). I'd feel free to modify the file, secure in the > knowledge that it would be printed in its original form. > > Is this the standard System V printer spooler that does this? > I understand the problem if you are running XENIX with floppy > disks, but hopefully a REAL system spooler would never do this... The spooler that comes with V7 and System III does this linking; it's sort of a halfassed idea, considering it only works for files on the same filesystem as the spool directory. Most of the time when I'm printing something, it's the output of a program so "lpr" had to read its standard input pipe and squirrel away a copy of the file anyway. Since the UNIX spooler doesn't do any pagination (which it shouldn't do), I always use "pr" when printing files, so the original copy isn't what's being printed. If it's a document, either it's coming from "nroff" or it's coming from our office automation system; in either case it's a piped copy getting squirreled away. Sometimes, you're printing such a huge job that it won't fit on /usr/spool, in which case a strategy like storing the name of the file in the queue, or making a symbolic link, is the only way to print the job (short of seizing the printer and doing "cat file >/dev/lp"). Guy Harris {seismo,ihnp4,allegra}!rlgvax!guy