Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!pilchuck!dataio!fnx!del
From: del@fnx.UUCP (Dag Erik Lindberg)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.misc
Subject: Re: ULIMIT flame
Message-ID: <901@fnx.UUCP>
Date: 7 Mar 91 18:49:04 GMT
References: <-DT9=.F@xds13.ferranti.com> <1991Mar03.211347.6220@pilikia.pegasus.com>
Reply-To: del@fnx.UUCP (Dag Erik Lindberg)
Distribution: na
Organization: I/Ovations    Kirkland, WA
Lines: 17

>In article <-DT9=.F@xds13.ferranti.com> peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) writes:
>Argh!!!!
>
>>Is there anyone out there who has ever had cause to be thankful for ulimits?
>
Sure, any time a program runs away filling up the disk.  Maybe all your code
is perfect and you never have that problem, but I have done it.  When it
really becomes a problem is if the command has been installed in cron,
thinking it was fully debugged, and a new case showed up.  A large value,
like 20 meg, for ULIMIT seems to be adequate for anything a user would
normally (or abnormally:-) do.  Then, if a program is running unattended,
in background or from cron, the disk doesn't fill up and bring the system
to it's knees just because someone goofed up on an algorithm.

-- 
del AKA Erik Lindberg                             uunet!pilchuck!fnx!del
                          Who is John Galt?