Xref: utzoo comp.unix.amiga:807 comp.bugs.sys5:1541
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!fernwood!uupsi!lupine!rfg
From: rfg@NCD.COM (Ron Guilmette)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.amiga,comp.bugs.sys5
Subject: Re: uucp cleanup script (SysVr4.0)
Message-ID: <5705@lupine.NCD.COM>
Date: 25 May 91 18:38:20 GMT
References: <104374@becker.UUCP> <1991May25.003224.5804@eci386.uucp>
Followup-To: comp.unix.amiga
Organization: Network Computing Devices, Inc., Mt. View, CA
Lines: 36

In article <1991May25.003224.5804@eci386.uucp> woods@eci386.UUCP (Greg A. Woods) writes:
>
>DOWN WITH EXCESSIVE SYMBOLIC LINKS!  They are a poor hack, and they
>cause way too much confusion....  They should only be used when it is
>*ABSOLUTELY* necessary to have a reference to file on a different
>filesystem, or *ABSOLUTELY* necessary to have multiple locations/names
>for a directory.  K.I.S.S.!

If you want to see a really good example of the misuse of symlinks,
check out the symlinks underneath /usr/include on a MIPS/os (version 4.51)
system.

There are several links of the form:

		filename -> .

In other words, there are "circularities" formed from symlinks.

If you don't understand why circularities are bad, log onto a MIPS system
and then do:

		cd /usr/include
		find . -follow -type f -print

Be prepared to wait a long long time for it to finish.  Alternatively, you
could also do:

		cd /usr/include
		ls -lR

which produces similar results.
-- 

// Ron ("Loose Cannon") Guilmette
// Internet: rfg@ncd.com      uucp: ...uunet!lupine!rfg
// New motto:  If it ain't broke, try using a bigger hammer.