Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!ucsd!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!ibmchs!auschs!awdprime!greenber.austin.ibm.com!jfh
From: jfh@greenber.austin.ibm.com (John F Haugh II)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.aix
Subject: Re: Why does the at command change the umask, etc.
Message-ID: <5814@awdprime.UUCP>
Date: 8 Mar 91 20:44:22 GMT
References: <BIS.91Feb22141227@krokrygg.uio.no>
Sender: news@awdprime.UUCP
Organization: Obfuscated Features "R" Us, LCC Austin
Lines: 36

In article <BIS.91Feb22141227@krokrygg.uio.no> bis@ifi.uio.no (Bjorn Ivar Stark) writes:
|I am running AIX 3.1. on level 3000. I do experience some
|problems
|both with the at-queue and the default queue for running shell
|script:
|
|1. The at command:
|
|   $ umask
|   2
|   $ at now + 1 min
|   umask > at-umask
|   Job fosli.666805320.a will be run at Sat Feb 16 16:42:00 1991.
|   $ cat at-umask
|   022
|
|   In other words the at command resets the umask to 022.
|   Why/Where?

Hmmm.  First the "why" part.

AIX v3 has a definition for what the user want's their umask to
be for the processes they create.  It is part of the user information
for each user.  Each user stanza has a "umask" attribute in the
/etc/security/user file.  If you don't have a value, the value from
the default stanza is used.  If you don't have a default stanza, the
value 022 is used.  If you don't like the value the system has set
up for you as the default, you can always set it yourself inside the
at job with an explicit "umask" command.

As for the "where" part, it is handled automatically when "at"
starts the job.
-- 
John F. Haugh II      |      I've Been Moved     |    MaBellNet: (512) 838-4340
SneakerNet: 809/1D064 |          AGAIN !         |      VNET: LCCB386 at AUSVMQ
BangNet: ..!cs.utexas.edu!ibmchs!auschs!snowball.austin.ibm.com!jfh (e-i-e-i-o)