Xref: utzoo comp.bugs.sys5:394 comp.unix.microport:292 comp.unix.xenix:1733
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!vsi!friedl
From: friedl@vsi.UUCP (Stephen J. Friedl)
Newsgroups: comp.bugs.sys5,comp.unix.microport,comp.unix.xenix
Subject: Re: FIFOs break tar, others
Message-ID: <420@vsi.UUCP>
Date: 20 Mar 88 05:55:45 GMT
References: <1512@sugar.UUCP> <2795@encore.UUCP> <3776@chinet.UUCP> <7478@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Distribution: na
Organization: V-Systems, Inc. -- Santa Ana, CA
Lines: 17
Summary: how about fsck?

In article <7478@brl-smoke.ARPA>, gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn ) writes:
> In article <3776@chinet.UUCP> les@chinet.UUCP (Leslie Mikesell) writes:
> >Don't forget that reading from a FIFO deletes the data.  Thus if you let
> >tar or cpio read them, some other process is going to lose its input.
> 
> Such archive programs should treat FIFOs the same way as symbolic links
> or device special files, namely record information about them but not
> attempt to archive their contents.

Sys V fsck(1M) complains about some FIFOs -- is their any good
reason for this?  The bummer is that it causes a laxness about
POSSIBLE FILE SIZE ERRORS ("Oh, that's just a FIFO, don't worry
about it") and real problems are missed.

-- 
Steve Friedl      friedl@vsi.com       *Hi Mom*
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