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From: john@xanth.UUCP (John Owens)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: symbolic links are a botch
Message-ID: <1420@xanth.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 26-Jun-87 12:28:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: xanth.1420
Posted: Fri Jun 26 12:28:57 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 27-Jun-87 11:10:12 EDT
References: <7879@brl-adm.ARPA> <2211@bunker.UUCP> <2676@ulysses.homer.nj.att.com> <6018@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Organization: Old Dominion University, Norfolk Va.
Lines: 30

In article <6018@brl-smoke.ARPA>, gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn ) writes:
> I recommend that we move UNIX toward prefixes as a better naming
> concept than "working directory".

And indeed, this is what VMS does, where the equivalent of "cd" is
	SET DEFAULT
and it sets the default prefix for that process.  If anyone tries to
implement this, watch out for the misfeature that VMS has: you can SET
DEFAULT successfully to any well-formed string, but you only find out
whether or not the directory exists when you try to use it.

Also, be aware that this will change the semantics of the following:

	User 1				User 2
	cd /dir/one
	touch file
					mv /dir/one /dir/one.bak
					mkdir /dir/one
	/bin/pwd
	ls

Currently, pwd will say "/dir/one.bak", and ls will show "file".  If
you implement directories as prefixes, pwd will say "/dir/one" and ls
will show nothing.  Which of these is most desirable is open to
question....

-- 
John Owens		Old Dominion University - Norfolk, Virginia, USA
john@ODU.EDU		old arpa: john%odu.edu@RELAY.CS.NET
+1 804 440 4529		old uucp: {seismo,harvard,sun,hoptoad}!xanth!john