Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!auspex!guy
From: guy@auspex.UUCP (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re:  tail -f
Message-ID: <709@auspex.UUCP>
Date: 14 Dec 88 19:15:46 GMT
References: <17785@adm.BRL.MIL>
Reply-To: guy@auspex.UUCP (Guy Harris)
Organization: Auspex Systems, Santa Clara
Lines: 7

>Right, he was probably referring to a non-blocking read which won't help
>since blocking is really what you want.

*Ahem* a non-blocking "read" on a regular file is no different from a
blocking "read" on the same file under most versions of UNIX.  Folks,
there really, truly, honestly *is* no special magic feature of e.g. 
4.xBSD that obviates the need for the "sleep and try again" stuff....