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From: woodside@ttidca.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Archive bit?
Message-ID: <823@ttidca.TTI.COM>
Date: Mon, 15-Jun-87 11:52:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: ttidca.823
Posted: Mon Jun 15 11:52:04 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 18-Jun-87 00:40:44 EDT
References: <343@parcvax.Xerox.COM> <756@atari.UUCP>
Reply-To: woodside@ttidcb.UUCP (George Woodside)
Organization: Citicorp/TTI, Santa Monica
Lines: 46

In article <756@atari.UUCP> apratt@atari.UUCP (Allan Pratt) writes:

>Yes, there is such a bit, but, alas, it is not correctly maintained by
>the current GEMDOS.
>
>In theory, the bit is set when a file is written to and closed, and
>cleared (by the backup program) when the file is backed up.  This
>behavior lets the backup program determine which files have changed
>(or are entirely new) since the last backup.
>
>In practice, the bit is nondeterministic when the file is written to and
>closed.  What's worse, the time stamp isn't changed (the current time
>stamp is the CREATION time, not the LAST-MODIFIED time).  If you set or
>clear the bit manually, and don't change the file, it will stay set or
>clear. 
...[omission of Allan's backup program idea...]
>Note that the theoretical behavior of the archive bit (and the way it
>will work in a new, correct GEMDOS) is OPPOSITE to the behavior expected
>by Turtle.

Yes, that's the opposite of what TURTLE is expecting. Since the documentation
in Hitchhiker's Guide was not too clear, I tested the bit to see what was
happening with it, then wrote TURTLE to deal with it as it was used. I then
did backups, setting the archive bit, and incrementals, reading it. It did
select the updated files, and all new files.

If the promised new ROMs will actually implement the Archive bit as Allan
describes, I'll make a provision in TURTLE to deal with it.

On the topic of postings, TURTLE is ready and waiting for the re-appearance
of the binaries group. The current version is always on Compuserve, in
the Atari-16 SIG. I am joing GEnie, and will be posting it there, if the
version there is not up-to-date.

..fooling rn..
..fooling rn..
..fooling rn..
..fooling rn..
..fooling rn..
..fooling rn..
..fooling rn..
..fooling rn..
..fooling rn..
-- 
*George R. Woodside - Citicorp/TTI - Santa Monica, CA 
*Path: ..!{trwrb|philabs|csun|psivax}!ttidca!woodside