Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!munnari.oz.au!murtoa.cs.mu.oz.au!ditmela!yarra!chris
From: chris@yarra.oz.au (Chris Jankowski)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: SUID directories -- security concern?
Message-ID: <1462@yarra.oz.au>
Date: 26 Feb 90 08:51:09 GMT
References: <14198@s.ms.uky.edu> <26270009@hpclisp.HP.COM> <4555@hemuli.tik.vtt.fi>
Organization: Pyramid Technology Corp PL, Melb., Australia
Lines: 23

In article <4555@hemuli.tik.vtt.fi> tml@hemuli.tik.vtt.fi (Tor Lillqvist) writes:
> In article <26270009@hpclisp.HP.COM> shankar@hpclisp.HP.COM (Shankar Unni) writes:
> The context-dependent files in HP-UX is IMHO a rather clever idea.  A
> bit like Apollo's symbolic links containing environment variables.  Is
> there any chance of other vendors taking up the idea?

Pyramid has been using conditional symbolic links for years. This is
neatly integrated into Pyramid's OSx to support transparently the
two universes - ATT and UCB.
For example if you type     cd /bin
you end up in /.attbin if your universe is ATT at this point of time
or in /.ucbbin if your universe is UCB.
The mechanism is quite general and could be easily extended to more
than two universes.

      -m-------   Chris Jankowski - Senior Systems Engineer chris@yarra.oz{.au}
    ---mmm-----   Pyramid Technology Corporation Pty. Ltd.  fax  +61 3 820 0536
  -----mmmmm---   11th Floor, 14 Queens Road                tel. +61 3 820 0711
-------mmmmmmm-   Melbourne, Victoria, 3004       AUSTRALIA       (03) 820 0711

``If you're crossing the nation in a covered wagon, it's better to have four
  strong oxen than 100 chickens.  Chickens are OK but we can't make them work 
  together yet.'' - Ross Bott, Pyramid U.S., on multiprocessors at AUUGM '89.