Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!tektronix!orca!tekecs!frip!andrew
From: andrew@frip.gwd.tek.com (Andrew Klossner)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Non-writes to /tmp
Message-ID: <9513@tekecs.TEK.COM>
Date: 11 Dec 87 21:36:34 GMT
References: <10776@brl-adm.ARPA>
Sender: nobody@tekecs.TEK.COM
Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville, Oregon
Lines: 21

[]

	"As you know, UNIX does writes when it feels like it, and uses
	any available in core blocks to read from. So if a program
	started and finished between /etc/update's sync's, the only
	disk overhead would be that of creating and deleting a
	directory entry which is done synchronously."

On my system, the major use of /tmp files is for one phase of a
compiler to pass information to the next.  The close in the first
(writing) phase seems to force the blocks to disk.  Or does it?

	"If you declare /tmp as a disk, you will be keeping two copies
	of the most recently used blocks in core."

You'll only have two copies (one in the virtual /tmp) if you would
otherwise have written a copy to disk (to the real /tmp).  Sounds like
a win to me.

  -=- Andrew Klossner   (decvax!tektronix!tekecs!andrew)       [UUCP]
                        (andrew%tekecs.tek.com@relay.cs.net)   [ARPA]