Re: [PATCH] Add a new lstat implementation based on Win32 API, and make stat use that implementation too.

From: David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org>
Date: Sep 5, 2007, 19:01 UTC
Message-ID: <85abs1hr6t.fsf@lola.goethe.zz>
In-Reply-To: <20070905160206.GY14853@genesis.frugalware.org>

[Vista and symbolic links]

Miklos Vajna <vmiklos@frugalware.org> writes:

Show 28 quoted lines

> On Mon, Sep 03, 2007 at 01:32:07PM +0200, David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org> wrote:
>> >> And if I understand the documentation correctly, then
>> >
>> >> $ mkdir foo && cd foo
>> >> $ cat ../x
>> >> x: No such file or directory
>> >
>> > correct.
>> 
>> Have you tested this, or is this from reading the documentation?
>
> umm, thanks for the notice, i was wrong:
>
> ----
> $ cat ../x
> this is makefile
> ----
>
> the situation what triggers the 'no such file' problem is:
>
> ----
> $ touch foo/Makefile
> $ mkdir bar
> $ ln -s foo/Makefile bar
> $ cd bar
> $ cat Makefile
> cat: Makefile: No such file or directory
> ----

This is under Vista? It would be the same under Unix. A good rule of thumb is to create relative symbolic links _only_ when the current work directory is identical with the target directory (and make it so if it isn't). Alternatively, when one is completely awake and in full possession of all one's mental facilities. The state that every geek is in 90% of the time according to his own perception, and 9% of the time according to the computer.

If you tested this on Vista, chances are that they only bungled the documentation in this case (and of course, needing sysadmin privileges for this would be just silly). Not without precedence.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum