Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!think!ames!ptsfa!ihnp4!pierce!shz
From: shz@pierce.UUCP (S. Zirin)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Broken chmod
Message-ID: <255@pierce.UUCP>
Date: 15 Dec 87 14:59:30 GMT
References: <10841@brl-adm.ARPA>
Reply-To: shz@pierce.UUCP (59453-S. Zirin)
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Liberty Corner
Lines: 20

In article <10841@brl-adm.ARPA> rbj@icst-cmr.arpa writes:
>Awhile back, somebody lamented the fact that their chmod had somehow
>acquired mode 644. Since there was no way to chmod chmod because it wasn't
>executable, they loaded it from a backup tape.
>
>Why couldn't they just have done the following:
>
>cd /bin
>cp cat foo		# create foo with mode 755
>cp chmod foo		# doesn't change mode of foo, or
>cat < chmod > foo	# doesn't change mode either
>./foo 755 chmod
>rm foo

Because most people throw up their hands and give up far too soon.  They
haven't learned how rewarding it can be to come up with an inventive
solution to a problem.

Seth Zirin
ihnp4!pierce!shz