>	[on the behavior of unlink()]
>	I think that you'll find that UN*X (unlike other systems) is
>happy to remove a file even if it's in use.  The caviat is that the
[...]
>	You might notice that the function is 'unlink' not 'delete'

Actually, you aren't removing the *file* (inode), but the *name*
(hence unlink).  You are unlinking the name from the inode.  The
inode, and the data it points to, are still present on the disk,
however, until the kernel closes its last reference to it (or remains
even after that if it is also hard-linked by another name on the
filesystem).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Michael L. VanLoon                                 michaelv@HeadCandy.com
       --<  Free your mind and your machine -- NetBSD free un*x  >--
     NetBSD working ports: 386+PC, Mac 68k, Amiga, HP300, Sun3, Sun4,
                           DEC PMAX (MIPS), DEC Alpha, PC532
     NetBSD ports in progress: VAX, Atari 68k, others...
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