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From: chuckb@lotex.UUCP (Chuck Bentley)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Norton Utilities for UNIX (was drawtree for Unix/Sun/curses?)
Message-ID: <14@lotex.UUCP>
Date: 7 Dec 89 21:56:08 GMT
References: <5250@abaa.UUCP> <11976@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Reply-To: chuckb@lotex.UUCP (Chuck Bentley)
Organization: Houston keeper of the KISS principle.
Lines: 34

In article <11976@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> subbarao@phoenix.Princeton.EDU
					(Kartik Saligrama Subbarao) writes:

>    Here is a question I have been wanting to ask for a long time but
> always forgot to. WHY doesn't someone make a whole NORTON UTILITES
> for UNIX? I mean, it is SO easy to unerase files in MS-DOS. If UNIX

>				-Is UNIX really superior ???
>				 Kartik Subbarao

With all the utilities that have been written over the past 15+ years,
if it were a simple matter to do what you want, don't you think someone
would have done it by now? Consider; when running a multi-user,
multi-tasking system, how do you ensure that the area of the disk that
is freed up by an 'rm' is kept available for the fool (excuse me, *user*
:-) that just deleted a file before considering the consequences?

There are a number of procedures that have been posted to the net to
protect this kind of person from themselves.  The simplest is to create
a new command called 'del' (look familiar? :-).  This moves the selected
file into a hidden directory like ~/.trashcan.  Another command 'undel'
simply moves the file back.  To keep the file system from filling up the
System Administrator puts an entry into cron to search for any files in
each persons root/.trashcan directory that are older than a given number
of days, and deletes them.  In the meantime, if the user realizes his
mistake soon enough, the file can be restored.  Of course, judicious use
of the sytem backup facilities can usually take care of the problem,
although not as easily. 

There have been a number of 'tree' like programs posted to the net.  I
have one written using the bourne shell.  If anyone would like it, send
me email.

		Chuck...	..!moray!lotex!chuckb