Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site ut-sally.UUCP Path: utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!ucdavis!lll-crg!mordor!ut-sally!std-unix From: std-unix@ut-sally.UUCP (Moderator, John Quarterman) Newsgroups: mod.std.unix Subject: What do you call an ex-directory?; V5N8 Message-ID: <3921@ut-sally.UUCP> Date: Mon, 6-Jan-86 09:50:44 EST Article-I.D.: ut-sally.3921 Posted: Mon Jan 6 09:50:44 1986 Date-Received: Mon, 6-Jan-86 19:44:39 EST Organization: IEEE/P1003 Portable Operating System Environment Committee Lines: 28 Approved: jsq@sally.UUCP Date: Sun, 5 Jan 86 19:14:39 est From: seismo!allegra!phri!roy@sally.UTEXAS.EDU (Roy Smith) Subject: What do you call an ex-directory? (or, "it's not dead, just sleeping") This may fall more into the category of a trivia question rather than something that demands being standardized, but here goes anyway. Try the following: % mkdir temp % cd temp % csh % cd .. % rmdir temp % exit % pwd I just did that on my 4.2 system and got back "/". If I remember correctly, the corresponding sequence on version 6, using sh instead of csh of course, would give you "". Is there a standard for what getwd() should return in the face of an error? Should there be (i.e. is it worth it)? It seems to me that the version 6 answer is somehow more accurate, even if it is not actually any more useful. Roy Smith System Administrator, Public Health Research Institute 455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Volume-Number: Volume 5, Number 8