Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ncrlnk!ncrcae!ece-csc!ncsuvx!gatech!bloom-beacon!bu-cs!mirror!ima!cfisun!lakart!dg From: dg@lakart.UUCP (David Goodenough) Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards Subject: Re: VMS vs. UNIX file system Message-ID: <254@lakart.UUCP> Date: 20 Sep 88 22:09:36 GMT References: <3506@ihlpe.ATT.COM> Organization: Lake - The systems people Lines: 34 From article <3506@ihlpe.ATT.COM>, by daryl@ihlpe.ATT.COM (Daryl Monge): > > What I would like in the UNIX file system the VMS system has is the ability > to break links when a file is written. I have an application where we wish > to share information between two directories, but I want the link broken if > the file is written when accessed from any directory it is listed in. This > happens with VMS links because of versions of files in the file system. You have it. Consider the following: % mkdir foo bar % cat /etc/passwd >foo/file % ln foo/file bar I now have one file in foo and bar - same data, cause it's a link % mv foo/file foo/file.old Make a new version (o.k. so version numbers don't work so hot, but with a 10 line procedure it can be implemented) % updatefoo/file You now have your new version, PLUS the old original, which is still a link. In both instances we've done about the same amount of work: in either instance update is going to have to cause the system to write the new file completely, but that's life. Just like you wanted. -- dg@lakart.UUCP - David Goodenough +---+ | +-+-+ ....... !harvard!cca!lakart!dg +-+-+ | +---+