Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!rutgers!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!teknowledge-vaxc!mkhaw
From: mkhaw@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA (Michael Khaw)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: symbolic links are a botch
Message-ID: <13993@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 24-Jun-87 04:06:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: teknowle.13993
Posted: Wed Jun 24 04:06:55 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 25-Jun-87 06:54:41 EDT
References: <2629@ulysses.homer.nj.att.com> <2200015@hpisoa1.HP.COM> <917@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> <1008@killer.UUCP>
Reply-To: mkhaw@teknowledge-vaxc.UUCP (Michael Khaw)
Organization: Teknowledge, Inc., Palo Alto CA
Lines: 22

In article <1008@killer.UUCP> jfh@killer.UUCP (John Haugh) writes:
>biggest problem I had was understanding what I got if I stat(2)ed a symbolic
>link.  My USG-Unix brain says I should get a stat structure saying I found
>a symbolic link.  But I don't seem to believe this is the way it works.
>


"man 2 stat" on my Ultrix system says that

	- stat(2) gets you information on the file
	- lstat(2) gets you information about the symlink if the file
	  is a symlink, otherwise it's just like stat()

so stat() doesn't let you know if you gave it a symlink, because it returns
information about the target of the symlink.


Mike Khaw
-- 
internet:  mkhaw@teknowledge-vaxc.arpa
usenet:	   {hplabs|sun|ucbvax|decwrl|sri-unix}!mkhaw%teknowledge-vaxc.arpa
USnail:	   Teknowledge Inc, 1850 Embarcadero Rd, POB 10119, Palo Alto, CA 94303