Re: permissions

[lcbginge () antelope wcc edu (Bruce Gingery)]

I can't speak for others, but I have a LOT of 
        "funky sym-links like foo -> ../../bar/foo"
and for good reasons.
    1. NEXTSTEP uses ".dir.tiff" and ".opendir.tiff" as icons for
        directories (folders in the GUI) to override the default
        "folder" and "open folder" graphics.  I generally set
        the same icon for the main and subdirectories in a project.
        I can do this with just the overhead of the symlinks and still
        am able to move the entire project easily from point to point
        in the filesystem.  The links "just move" when they are
        relative rather than fixed.  Also when I drag a project
        into NeXT-mail, the icons (and symlinks) travel with it.

    2. I "mount" large portions of my OS through a rather complex
        hierarchy of symlinks (which can freely traverse hardware
        breaks, unlike hard-links).  Some files are on multiple
        removable volumes.  RELATIVE sym-links rather than fixed
        path symlinks allow me to preserve some portions of the
        filesystem so long as ONE volume is mounted which carries
        the file.  I can still mount according to the actual volume
        mounted, "overwriting" cross-volume symlinks.  When one
        of the appropriate magneto-optical disks is inserted and
        (daemon automounted by volume name), links are suddenly
        resolved at the link point, which resolves links as accessed
        throughout the filesystem.  I have no direct net connection
        on this ultra-symlinked machine at present, so please forego
        flames and pointers regarding just how dangerous symlinks
        can be.  I do know, but for now -- it works.

---
 UUCP   bruce () TotSysSoft com
 SMTP   lcbginge () antelope wcc edu

        NeXT-mail and MIME-mail welcome


On Tue, 17 May 1994, Howard the Energizer wrote:

> In a message posted Tuesday, May 17 Bruce Barnett writes:
>
> > Speaking of which, have people used my trojan perl script I posted earlier?
> > I think I only got one bugfix, and one report of the results.
> >
> > Sounds like a lot of people asked for it, but never used it....
> >
> > If you did act on the results, (i.e. change the permission of some
> > directories, etc.) did it have any ramifications?  Did any code break?
> >
> > Should I post it to other mailing lists? Or is it too buggy?
>
> I certainly found it useful, and as far as I know few people have
> funky sym-links like foo -> ../../../bar/foo 
>
> The only other problem I ran into, was that it wedged a sun386i when I
> ran it (probably becuase it ran out of swap space).
>
> It didn't break anything here.
>
>
> Howard Bampton                     
> Internet: bampton () cs utk edu        
> Sys Admin, UT Knoxville, Tennessee  Even the walls of Jericho fell.....