Re: Error converting from 1.4.4.1 to 1.5.0?

On Wed, 14 Feb 2007, Nicolas Pitre wrote:

Almost any "edit in place" operation under UNIX is invariably a question of "read old file + write new file + mv new old".

As such, to be read-only for a lot of programs, you actually need to not just make the *file* read-only, you need to make the *directory* read-only too.

Or you need to use only tools that explicitly check (a lot of editors will do that, for example, because in an RCS world you're supposed to do magic things to actually edit a file).

So I'm not at all surprised that "-pi" (where the "i" stands for "in-place") will overwrite read-only files.

I'm sure there is some random character that makes perl check, and not do it. Probably a sequence of unusual characters that makes it look like a swear-word.

Maybe "perl -pi -%££@$" will do it. And if not, just add random characters until it works. "It's the perl way".

	Linus "Yeah, I never really got the 'perl way'" Torvalds