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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!harpo!decvax!genrad!panda!talcott!harvard!bbnccv!bbncca!aoa!mbr
From: mbr@aoa.UUCP (Mark Rosenthal)
Newsgroups: net.bugs,net.unix-wizards
Subject: 'mv foo ..' when . is foo
Message-ID: <256@aoa.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 22-Aug-85 19:24:25 EDT
Article-I.D.: aoa.256
Posted: Thu Aug 22 19:24:25 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 25-Aug-85 02:25:14 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: Adaptive Optics Assoc., Cambridge, Mass. USA
Lines: 40
Xref: watmath net.bugs:673 net.unix-wizards:14540

Although our site has been receiving articles for the past few months,
articles posted to the net have not been getting distributed until recently.
The following is a reposting of an article I sent out quite some time ago.
I believe it never made it to the net at large.  Apologies if you have seen
this before.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I just did the following by accident:

	mkdir foo		# Make a temporary directory
	cd foo
	 .
	 .
	 .
	
	 .
	 .	# Time passes.  I forget what directory I'm in.
	 .	# I need a temporary file name.  How about 'foo'.
	 .
	
	 .
	 .	# More time passes.  Lets save foo where it'll
	 .	# be safe when I delete my current directory.
	 .
	mv foo ..
	 .
	 .	# Now, what's the name of my current directory?
	 .
	pwd	# This produces "pwd: read error in .."

Is this a feature?

BTW, I was logged in as root at the time.  It turns out that it doesn't
work this way if you're not.  We are running a port of Sys V on the
Masscomp MC500.

-- 

	Mark of the Valley of Roses
	...!{decvax,linus,ima,ihnp4}!bbncca!aoa!mbr