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From: kre@monet.Berkeley.EDU (Robert Elz)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: /bin/test and stat(2)
Message-ID: <21417@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Fri, 23-Oct-87 22:37:40 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.21417
Posted: Fri Oct 23 22:37:40 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 25-Oct-87 18:55:56 EST
References: <9767@brl-adm.ARPA> <673@unmvax.unm.edu> <6569@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: kre@monet.Berkeley.EDU (Robert Elz)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
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In article <6569@brl-smoke.ARPA> gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) <gwyn>) writes:
>The original intent was for "" by itself to refer to the current working
>directory; an argument could be made that this is just an instance of
>a general algorithm for interpreting pathnames.  But an argument can
>also be made that its meaning is not unambiguously determined by the
>general rules, so that a special rule is necessary to uniquely nail
>down the meaning of "".  Different systems nailed it down differently.

I don't quite see that there is, or ever was, the second argument.
The general rule is quite clear about this, its also documented, and
always has been.

The systems which have made "" illegal I think did so because most
uses of "" as a pathname are undeniably programming errors (as was
the one which started this whole discussion), and there was some
desire to help catch the errors.  A worthy aim, unfortunately not
a good idea at all.

kre