Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!ttrdc!levy
From: levy@ttrdc.UUCP (Daniel R. Levy)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Non-writes to /tmp
Message-ID: <2036@ttrdc.UUCP>
Date: 13 Dec 87 09:40:28 GMT
References: <10776@brl-adm.ARPA> <9513@tekecs.TEK.COM>
Organization: AT&T, Skokie, IL
Lines: 16

In article <9513@tekecs.TEK.COM>, andrew@frip.gwd.tek.com (Andrew Klossner) writes:
>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?

No, the blocks haven't necessarily gone to disk yet even on close.
The blocks will go to disk in a short time thereafter, though, the
time depending on the system and how it was set up.  Some systems depend
upon an /etc/update (or similar) daemon, which invokes the sync() system call
on a periodic basis to cause buffered blocks to be written to disk.  Others
(like System V) have this periodic update functionality built into the kernel.
-- 
|------------Dan Levy------------|  Path: ..!{akgua,homxb,ihnp4,ltuxa,mvuxa,
|         an Engihacker @        |  	}!ttrdc!ttrda!levy
| AT&T Computer Systems Division |  Disclaimer?  Huh?  What disclaimer???
|--------Skokie, Illinois--------|