Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!necntc!ima!cfisun!lakart!dg
From: dg@lakart.UUCP (David Goodenough)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: linking directories (was Re: A suggestion: .... == ../../..)
Message-ID: <87@lakart.UUCP>
Date: 3 May 88 15:39:11 GMT
References: <1236@zen.UUCP>
Organization: Lake - The systems people
Lines: 23

From article <1236@zen.UUCP>, by vic@zen.UUCP (Victor Gavin):
> ..... much stuff deleted .....
> ps Why do you have to be super-user to link directories?

Consider the following:

% cd /u2/dg
% mkdir foo
% mkdir foo/barf
% mkdir foo/barf/gag
% unlink ..			; UGH NUMBER 1
% ln /u2/dg/foo/barf/gag ..	; UGH NUMBER 2
% pwd

OOPS - Looks like we have a loop in the directory structure - pwd is going
to have a nervous breakdown.

In general the damage that can be done by linking and unlinking directories
is just too horrific to think about.
-- 
	dg@lakart.UUCP - David Goodenough		+---+
							| +-+-+
	....... !harvard!adelie!cfisun!lakart!dg	+-+-+ |
						  	  +---+