Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!mouse
From: mouse@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu (der Mouse)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: how do I touch a symlink?
Message-ID: <1991May24.110159.3504@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu>
Date: 24 May 91 11:01:59 GMT
References: <1991May21.225406.22979@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Organization: McGill Research Centre for Intelligent Machines
Lines: 20

In article <1991May21.225406.22979@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>, phil@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Phil Howard KA9WGN) writes:

> When touching a symlink, the touching process affects the targeted
> file.  I'd like to update the date on the symlink itself.  Is there a
> way to do this in a shell script w/o writing a C program?

As far as I know, the only way to do this is to remove and recreate the
symlink.  (Well, the only civilized way.  If you want to live on the
edge, you can write a program to scribble on the raw disk device.  This
is most definitely not recommended; if you could do that and get it
right, you wouldn't be asking.)

But, why do you care?  The date on a symlink is generally not used for
anything.  You may be trying to solve the wrong problem.

					der Mouse

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