Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: Notesfiles; site uokvax.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!uiucdcs!uokvax!jab From: jab@uokvax.UUCP Newsgroups: net.unix Subject: Re: Re: tar .vs. cpio - (nf) - Re: excee - (nf) Message-ID: <6100040@uokvax.UUCP> Date: Wed, 22-Aug-84 23:18:00 EDT Article-I.D.: uokvax.6100040 Posted: Wed Aug 22 23:18:00 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 25-Aug-84 06:13:24 EDT References: <372@ihuxu.UUCP> Lines: 22 Nf-ID: #R:ihuxu:-37200:uokvax:6100040:000:824 Nf-From: uokvax!jab Aug 22 22:18:00 1984 #R:ihuxu:-37200:uokvax:6100040:000:824 uokvax!jab Aug 22 22:18:00 1984 /***** uokvax:net.unix / ihuxu!jhall / 12:56 pm Aug 14, 1984 */ If Berkeley UNIX has the xargs command, I believe you could use the following technique to avoid exceeding the MAXARGS parameter (usually 10 blocks default): --John R. Hall, ...ihnp4!ihuxu!jhall "And may your days be celebrations" /* ---------- */ Umm, I had the understanding that MAXARGS/NCARGS was the number of bytes passed as arguments from one program to the program it was exec'ing. The code in the exec(2) system call allocates only so much space for the arguments when it begins to fabricate the running program, and it's quite unwilling to let you pass MORE than those numbers. xargs(1) is only a program --- it still runs the command in question using the exec(2) system call, and is still stuck with those constraints. Jeff Bowles LIsle, IL