Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!uunet!bu.edu!bu-cs!snorkelwacker!think!barmar
From: barmar@think.com (Barry Margolin)
Newsgroups: gnu.emacs
Subject: Re: Unwanted chown's done on files being edited
Message-ID: <33783@news.Think.COM>
Date: 8 Feb 90 05:40:21 GMT
References: <541@massey.ac.nz>
Sender: news@Think.COM
Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA
Lines: 17


GNU Emacs doesn't chown files when writing them.  The reason the owner is
getting set is that it's a new file.  Emacs renames the file you read in to
file~, and then writes out a new file.

Emacs can be told to create the backup file by copying the original file
instead of renaming it.  Set the variable backup-by-copying to t.

I consider the current default behavior to be a big win.  When there are
files that are edited by many different users (such as the aliases file) it
is nice to be able to tell who last edited a file (so you can inform them
of their error when they make a mistake).
--
Barry Margolin, Thinking Machines Corp.

barmar@think.com
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