Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ukma!rutgers!att!chinet!les
From: les@chinet.chi.il.us (Leslie Mikesell)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: unlink safe before close?
Message-ID: <8412@chinet.chi.il.us>
Date: 9 May 89 04:10:07 GMT
References: <755@unify.UUCP> <8201@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Reply-To: les@chinet.chi.il.us (Leslie Mikesell)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Chinet - Public Access Unix
Lines: 15

In article <8201@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> bernsten@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Dan Bernstein) writes:
>  [is it nonportable to unlink an fd and still use it?]

>According to various UNIX standards and according to the internal
>workings of the ``standard'' kernel routines (see, e.g., Bach),
>it is perfectly safe. A file is removed when it is fully unlink()ed
>*and* fully close()d; link() and unlink() do not affect file behavior
>after an open().

Note that this does not apply to NFS file systems.  The "stateless"
nature of the protocol precludes the server from knowing that a
client thinks it still has the file open.


Les Mikesell