[Info-vax] Request description of UFS for VMS person

[Bob Eager]

On Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:49:17 UTC, John Santos 
<john.santos at post.harvard.edu> wrote:

> In article <176uZD2KcidF-pn2-WdQO6berSifX at rikki.tavi.co.uk>, rde42
> @spamcop.net says...> 
> > On Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:04:41 UTC, glen herrmannsfeldt 
> > <gah at ugcs.caltech.edu> wrote:
> > 
> > > While files can have multiple links, directories are supposed
> > > to have only one. 
> > 
> > <pedant>
> > Two.
> > </pedant>
> 
> Is the ".." entry in a directory that points back to its parent
> a real link or a dummy that's created on the fly by ls and
> the file system when you reference it?  In that case, shouldn't
> any directory with n subdirectories have n+1 (or n+2, if the
> "." entry that points to itself is also real) links to it?

Yes, .. is real. So there are two real links.

Sorry, I was thinking of a directory with no subdirectories, and yes, 
theer are more than two - one extra for each subdirectory.

> If a directory were hardlinked from multiple directories,
> where would .. point?  Or is that the problem to be avoided?

It's not allowed. Hard links to directories can't be created manually; 
that could create a circular directory structure.

-- 
Bob Eager