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From: jfh@rpp386.cactus.org (John F Haugh II)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.programmer,alt.sources.d
Subject: Re: -x implementations
Message-ID: <19017@rpp386.cactus.org>
Date: 31 Jan 91 13:54:19 GMT
References: <1943:Jan2619:34:3591@kramden.acf.nyu.edu> <2856@charon.cwi.nl> <8869@star.cs.vu.nl> <1991Jan29.153242.12335@convex.com> <8896@star.cs.vu.nl>
Reply-To: jfh@rpp386.cactus.org (John F Haugh II)
Organization: Lone Star Cafe and BBS Service
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In article <8896@star.cs.vu.nl> maart@cs.vu.nl (Maarten Litmaath) writes:
>If your effective uid is that of user `foo', whereas your real uid is
>that of user `bar':
>
>	$ ls -l mailbox
>	-rw-------  1 foo          1079 Jan 30 19:26 mailbox
>	$ test -r mailbox || echo 'Huh?  Is mailbox unreadable for me?'
>
>Access(2), a sick system call.  (I _know_ it uses the real uid on
>purpose.)

The question test(1) is asking is wrong.  test is supposed to return
whether or not it =is= readable, not whether it =should= be readable.

test(1) is the sick on.  Any version of test(1) which relies on
access(2) is broken.
-- 
John F. Haugh II                             UUCP: ...!cs.utexas.edu!rpp386!jfh
Ma Bell: (512) 832-8832                           Domain: jfh@rpp386.cactus.org
"13 of 17 valedictorians in Boston High Schools last spring were immigrants
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