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Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!brl-adm!rutgers!sri-unix!hplabs!pyramid!ucat!epimass!jbuck
From: jbuck@epimass.UUCP (Joe Buck)
Newsgroups: news.software.b
Subject: Re: Patch #3 for news
Message-ID: <814@epimass.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 12-Jan-87 14:37:49 EST
Article-I.D.: epimass.814
Posted: Mon Jan 12 14:37:49 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 13-Jan-87 01:29:11 EST
References: <146@trwspf.UUCP>
Reply-To: jbuck@epimass.UUCP (Joe Buck)
Distribution: world
Organization: Entropic Processing, Inc., Cupertino, CA
Lines: 33
Summary: Safe for 4.2, 4.3; unsafe for others

In article <146@trwspf.UUCP> vito@trwspf.UUCP (Herb Barad) writes:
>I remember reading that some people were having problems with
>patch #3 that was posted for the 2.11 news. Is there any official
>suggestions as to going ahead with patch #3.  I think somewhere
>people were mentioning that patch #3 could clear out the
>active file.  Is this true?

If you have BSD_42 or LOCKF defined, you're safe.  On other systems,
the first article will wipe your active file.  

Here's the guilty part of the patch:

+ #ifdef BSD4_2
+ 	flock(fileno(actfp), LOCK_UN);
+ #else	/* !BSD4_2 */
+ #ifdef	LOCKF
+ 	lockf(fileno(actfp), F_ULOCK, 0);
+ #else	/* !LOCKF */
+ 	UNLINK(ACTIVE, bfr);	<---- here it is!
+ #endif /* V7 */
+ #endif	/* !BSD4_2 */

That's right, folks, it unlinks your active file.  Change the
offending line to "UNLINK(bfr)".  

Note: UNLINK is a macro with no arguments; that's why the C
preprocessor doesn't catch this.

I'd recommend installing it with this change, since other bugs are
fixed.
-- 
- Joe Buck 	{hplabs,ihnp4,sun}!oliveb!epimass!jbuck		HASA (A,S)
  Entropic Processing, Inc., Cupertino, California