Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 Apollo 5/13/85; site apollo.uucp Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!think!harvard!bbnccv!bbncca!wanginst!apollo!rees From: rees@apollo.uucp (Jim Rees) Newsgroups: net.bugs.4bsd Subject: Re: A thought on symbolic links ( was utime(2) ) Message-ID: <287abb67.1de6@apollo.uucp> Date: Thu, 22-Aug-85 08:54:10 EDT Article-I.D.: apollo.287abb67.1de6 Posted: Thu Aug 22 08:54:10 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 24-Aug-85 19:42:27 EDT References: <9789@ucbvax.ARPA> <57@mullian.OZ> Organization: Apollo Computer, Chelmsford, Mass. Lines: 12 A possibility would be to set a bit in the inode to indicate the linked-to filename is short (< 40 bytes?) & the data is contained the block pointer area of the inode. On the Apollo system, we store the link text in the directory itself, saving even the cost of allocating an inode. This also means the link text can be as long as you want, not limited by the size of the block pointers. We also have 4.2 style symbolic links for anyone who wants to use them, but given the vacuous semantics of ownership and mode, few people choose to.