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From: goldfain@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: The File System
Message-ID: <8700015@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: Sat, 31-Oct-87 23:43:00 EST
Article-I.D.: osiris.8700015
Posted: Sat Oct 31 23:43:00 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 5-Nov-87 20:36:12 EST
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Nf-ID: #N:osiris.cso.uiuc.edu:8700015:000:1033
Nf-From: osiris.cso.uiuc.edu!goldfain    Oct 31 22:43:00 1987


The GNU Emacs documentation says lots of things about file-handling and
the making of backup and checkpoint (auto-save) files.  I haven't any
complaints - it has never lost anything, but when our file system got full, a
couple of times I have had to cross my fingers.  Recent versions have a
"file-precious" flag which can be set.  The description of this now has me
confused.  Could someone write a summary that describes what actions are
taken in the file system and when?  As an example, suppose I enter

        gnumacs myfile

and edit it, and  save it  a couple of times during  the edit session (which I
used to do before I  understood what auto-save was  doing), then finally exit.
I  would love a single,   coherent, walk-through account, which  compares  the
various usual behaviors, and  their dependence on  variable settings.   On my
first pass, please  leave  out   any account  of  weird things  like links, or
unusual buffers like RMAIL.
           Thanks,   Mark Goldfain      arpa:     goldfain@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu