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From: scott@bbxsda.UUCP (Scott Amspoker)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: pwd
Message-ID: <488@bbxsda.UUCP>
Date: 21 Dec 89 23:02:56 GMT
References: <265@zircon.UUCP> <4504@helios.ee.lbl.gov>
Reply-To: scott@bbxsda.UUCP (Scott Amspoker)
Organization: Basis International,  Albuquerque, NM
Lines: 22

In article <4504@helios.ee.lbl.gov> envbvs@epb2.lbl.gov (Brian V. Smith) writes:
>In article <265@zircon.UUCP>, davidb@Pacer.UUCP (David Barts) writes:
>< 
>< As numerous responses have told me, the system does not maintain
>< an open file descriptor into the current working directory.  Rather,
>< pwd works its way back up the tree by finding the i number of .
>< and searching for the entry under .. whose i-number matches that
>< of dot.  Special trickery is needed to handle mount points.
>< 
>< /bin/pwd is setuid to root so it can handle unreadable directories
>< in the path.
>
>This is not true in Ultrix - pwd will fail if it encounters an 
>unreadable directory in the path. 

A quick glance at /bin/pwd shows this is also true for Xenix.

-- 
Scott Amspoker
Basis International, Albuquerque, NM
(505) 345-5232
unmvax.cs.unm.edu!bbx!bbxsda!scott