Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.bugs,net.news,net.news.b
Subject: major bug in 2.10.1 expire 
Message-ID: <3242@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 6-Oct-83 20:11:18 EDT
Article-I.D.: utzoo.3242
Posted: Thu Oct  6 20:11:18 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 6-Oct-83 20:11:18 EDT
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 22

The 2.10 and 2.10.1 expire (there's only one line different between them,
and it doesn't affect this problem) blow up badly when asked to archive
news on a V7 system.  The problem is that expire.c/ulall() calls the
mkparents() routine and checks the returned value.  Surprise, surprise,
mkparents() doesn't return a value!  What you are actually getting,
quite by accident, is the return code from the chown() system call that
is the last action in mkparents() -- a call that will invariably fail
on a standard V7.  The result is that any expired article which needs
a new directory in the archive tree will create the directory but will
then be thrown away.  The *next* article in that group will be fine,
since the directory is already there.

The fix is quite simple.  In expire.c, about line 387, change

	if (mkparents(newname) == 0)
to
	mkparents(newname);

Oh Almighty Authors of B news:  how did this ever get past lint, guys?
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry