Path: utzoo!censor!isgtec!robert
From: robert@isgtec.uucp (Robert Osborne)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.ultrix
Subject: command arguments
Keywords: OHMYGOD! What happened to my file! F***!
Message-ID: <714@isgtec.UUCP>
Date: 6 Nov 90 16:57:29 GMT
Sender: news@isgtec.UUCP
Reply-To: robert@isgtec.uucp (Robert Osborne)
Lines: 23

On our brand new DECstation 5000 (Ultrix 4.0), I typed in the following
command:

	>sort -onewfile fairlyimportantoldfile
	
it seemed to be taking a long time so I broke it (Stupid, stupid, stupid).
It totally ignored newfile and behaved as if

	>sort -o fairlyimportantoldfile
	
and waited for standard input to sort into my file.  So, it truncated
my fairlyimportantoldfile.

1)  The -o option is documented in the man page as -oname

2)  Why on ^C does it truncate the file?  (Nice error handling :-)

3)  Do any other Ultrix commands behave this way???
    (ignoring option fields, dangerous cleanup, etc.)
    
Rob.
--
Robert A. Osborne   ...uunet!utai!lsuc!isgtec!robert or robert@isgtec.uucp