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From: ram-ashwin@YALE.ARPA.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Copying the Real last-change-info
Message-ID: <8705051949.AA22208@yale-celray.arpa>
Date: Tue, 5-May-87 15:49:51 EDT
Article-I.D.: yale-cel.8705051949.AA22208
Posted: Tue May  5 15:49:51 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 7-May-87 03:17:53 EDT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Distribution: world
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 21

Issue: Time-stamping a copied file with the date/time of the copy operation
vs.  time-stamping it with the date/time of the original file.

I can think of cases for each possibility in which it would be the better
thing to do.  One solution (implemented by the Aegis operating system on
Apollo workstations, for example) is to time-stamp each file with TWO times
-- the time that the file was CREATED, and the time it was LAST MODIFIED
(Apollo also has the time it was LAST USED, which isn't relevant here).  When
you copy a file, you can choose to preserve the date/time information on the
copy, in which case the CREATED time of the copy is the current time, but the
LAST MODIFIED time is the last modified time of the original file (probably
the time of the last USEFUL change).  A user (or a program) can now make use
of whichever piece of information is relevant.

Voila -- both parties happy.

-- Ashwin Ram --

ARPA:    Ram-Ashwin@yale
UUCP:    {decvax,linus,seismo}!yale!Ram-Ashwin
BITNET:  Ram@yalecs