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Path: utzoo!nonh
From: nonh@utzoo.UUCP (Chris Robertson)
Newsgroups: net.sources
Subject: Re: checkmail (Really: creating empty files)
Message-ID: <7061@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 23-Aug-86 23:42:33 EDT
Article-I.D.: utzoo.7061
Posted: Sat Aug 23 23:42:33 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 23-Aug-86 23:42:33 EDT
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 14
Summary: 

In article <1256@uwmcsd1.UUCP> shop@uwmcsd1.UUCP (Thomas Krueger) writes:
>> Tim Maroney writes:
>> ... the easiest way [to get an empty file] is probably "cat > .m"
>> followed by an end of file.
>
>Another coupla ways is to cp /dev/null .m , or on Berkeley systems, touch
>will create the zero length file to begin with.
>
Try using ": > file" -- the file is guaranteed empty, and it works for
any shell I know of.
-- 
Christine Robertson {linus, decvax, ihnp4}!utzoo!{nonh, toram!chris}

Cat, n. - lapwarmer with built-in buzzer.