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From: jso@edison.UUCP (John Owens)
Newsgroups: net.unix
Subject: Re: Are links as useful as they could b
Message-ID: <880@edison.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 21-Oct-86 11:28:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: edison.880
Posted: Tue Oct 21 11:28:04 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 23-Oct-86 18:53:28 EDT
References: <21127@rochester.ARPA> <1900036@ccvaxa>
Organization: General Electric Company, Charlottesville, VA
Lines: 20
Summary: let's not be unpredictable

In article <1900036@ccvaxa>, aglew@ccvaxa.UUCP writes:
> As a compromise between counting and remembering paths, don't fail before
> at least N=8 symlinks, and hash the remainder into bits in as long a mask
> as you care. The hashing overhead might be worth it if it saves more name
> translations - AND if you want to have symlink paths longer than N=8 a lot.
> 
> Andy "Krazy" Glew. Gould CSD-Urbana.    USEnet:  ihnp4!uiucdcs!ccvaxa!aglew
> 1101 E. University, Urbana, IL 61801    ARPAnet: aglew@gswd-vms

Yeah, but then the behavior is unpredictable to the "casual observer".
It's easy to say "you can't have more than 8 steps", or even "you
can't have a loop, since the kernel remembers the device/inodes
traversed".  With this method, sometimes you can have more than 8,
sometimes not; I don't see how you can be completely reliable with
hashing unless you save the actual device/inodes as well, and just use
the hashing for speed.

John Owens		General Electric Company - Charlottesville, VA
jso@edison.GE.COM	old arpa: jso%edison.GE.COM@seismo.CSS.GOV
+1 804 978 5726		old uucp: {seismo,decuac,houxm,calma}!edison!jso