Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site rdin.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!cmcl2!philabs!rdin!perl
From: perl@rdin.UUCP (Robert Perlberg)
Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards
Subject: unremovable files?
Message-ID: <373@rdin.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 5-Apr-84 13:18:06 EST
Article-I.D.: rdin.373
Posted: Thu Apr  5 13:18:06 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Apr-84 04:35:51 EST
Organization: Resource Dynamics Inc., New York
Lines: 38

<>

I have on several occasions run into the problem of having a
program create an unremovable file.  If I try:

rm a.out

rm will respond:

a.out: not removed.

(I checked the permissions on the file and the directory - I
should be able to remove it.)
This did not even work when root tried to remove it.  /etc/unlink
fairs no better than rm.  It can be moved:

mv a.out duh

but not removed:

rm duh
duh: not removed

I am able to remove such files by the following method:

mkdir tempdir
mv a.out tempdir
rm -r tempdir

Does anyone know what causes a file like this to be created and
why the system behaves as it does when I try to remove it?
I am running UNIX System III.  I checked the directory with "od
-c" and the link entry has no strange characters in it.

Robert Perlberg
Resource Dynamics Inc.
New York
philabs!rdin!rdin2!perl