Subject: bin/3393: [dM] pax without /{var/,}tmp fails silently
To: None <gnats-bugs@gnats.netbsd.org>
From: der Mouse <mouse@Rodents.Montreal.QC.CA>
List: netbsd-bugs
Date: 03/25/1997 22:58:36
>Number:         3393
>Category:       bin
>Synopsis:       [dM] pax without /{var/,}tmp fails silently
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       non-critical
>Priority:       low
>Responsible:    bin-bug-people (Utility Bug People)
>State:          open
>Class:          sw-bug
>Submitter-Id:   net
>Arrival-Date:   Tue Mar 25 20:05:00 1997
>Last-Modified:
>Originator:     der Mouse
>Organization:
	Dis-
>Release:        1.2_BETA
>Environment:
	Sun-3/260
>Description:
	If neither /var/tmp nor /tmp exists, at least some pax runs
	fail (see how-to-repeat for an example).  This would not be
	worth a PR, except that they fail _silently_.
>How-To-Repeat:
	# mkdir /some/where
	# tar cf - -C / dev bin/pax | ( cd /some/where ; tar xfp - )
	# mkdir /some/where/some
	# touch /some/where/some/file
	# mkdir /some/where/else
	# chroot /some/where /bin/pax -rw -pa -L some/file /else

	Note the lack of complaint from pax.  Inspect /some/where/else
	and notice pax didn't copy some/file to it.  Wonder what went
	wrong.  (I eventually found this by ktracing the chrooted pax.
	ktrace reveals that not only does pax not complain, it exits
	with exit code 0, thus incorrectly leading one to believe it
	completed successfully!)
>Fix:
	"Don't do that, then."  Beyond that I have no fix.  Ideally,
	pax shouldn't demand /tmp (or /var/tmp) for operations that
	don't call for it; failing that, it should at least complain
	properly.

					der Mouse

			       mouse@rodents.montreal.qc.ca
		     7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39  4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B
>Audit-Trail:
>Unformatted: