Subject: Re: utmp file format change
To: Andrew Brown <atatat@atatdot.net>
From: R. C. Dowdeswell <elric@mabelode.imrryr.org>
List: tech-userlevel
Date: 09/29/2001 01:06:26
On 710418501 seconds since the Beginning of the UNIX epoch
Andrew Brown wrote:
>

>>I've often wished for an flink() call, as well as an funlink() call.
>>Now BEFORE you jump on me for the last one, I do realise its folly, because
>>it would effectively do a 'clri' on the inode pointed to by the fd in
>>question -- unlink() should be restricted to pathnames and not operate
>>on file descriptors EVER.  A user-accessible clri routine is the last
>>thing we want floating around.
>
>funlink(2)?  that's weird...especially since the link count might be
>anything when you do it.  that would probably produce bad effects in
>too many places.

funlink(2) doesn't make sense?  A link is a name that exists in a
directory that allows an inode to be accessed.  If you have a file
descriptor, you have an access but not the name (if that makes
sense as a description of why I think that it doesn't make sense...)

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