Messages in this thread |  | | Subject | Re: unlink system call on directories - Bug + fix | From | (Aaron M. Ucko) | Date | 17 Nov 1996 11:10:03 -0500 |
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"Andrew M. Bishop" <amb@gedanken.demon.co.uk> writes:
> The manual page for unlink() and the actual behaviour do not match > when the file to be unlinked is a directory. > > > The manual page says that unlink() returns EISDIR when the pathname > refers to a directory. But the kernel returns EPERM for minix and > derivatives ext,ext2 etc., see the file namei.c in those directories. > > The fix for these is trivial (if I understand correctly how the kernel > handles the unlink command) and left as an exercise to the reader.
Yes, editing manpages is easy :-). From section 5.5.1.4 of the 1996 edition of the POSIX.1 spec:
[EPERM] The file named by _path_ is a directory, and either the calling process does not hae appropriate privileges or the implementation prohibits using unlink() on directories.
-- Aaron M. Ucko (amu@mit.edu) | For Geek Code, PGP public key, and other info, finger amu@monk.mit.edu. | "Kids! Bringing about Armageddon can be dangerous. Do not attempt it in your home." -- T. Pratchett & N. Gaiman, _Good Omens_
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