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Date:      Mon, 30 Apr 2001 09:00:43 -0700
From:      Ted Faber <faber@lunabase.org>
To:        Valentin Nechayev <netch@iv.nn.kiev.ua>
Cc:        stable@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: tail
Message-ID:  <20010430090043.A30396@praxis.lunabase.org>
In-Reply-To: <20010430110352.A646@iv.nn.kiev.ua>; from netch@iv.nn.kiev.ua on Mon, Apr 30, 2001 at 11:03:52AM %2B0300
References:  <Pine.BSF.4.21.0104301632200.43352-100000@lists.unixathome.org> <KPECIILENDDLPCNIMLOFOEOICCAA.juha@saarinen.org> <20010429222205.A29058@praxis.lunabase.org> <20010430110352.A646@iv.nn.kiev.ua>

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On Mon, Apr 30, 2001 at 11:03:52AM +0300, Valentin Nechayev wrote:
>  Sun, Apr 29, 2001 at 22:22:05, faber (Ted Faber) wrote about "Re: tail": 
> > > juha@cyrus:~$ tail /
> > > tail: /: Is a directory
> > > More desirable behaviour, IMO.
> > FYI, and maybe surprisingly, you're about to start a flame war.

See, I knew better and I responded anyway.  I am dumb.

> >                                                                  BSD
> > tail and related tools have been treating directories as files for
> > *many* years. 
> 
> Can you please prove nesessarity of such behavior, as really useful examples
> of cat/tail of directory, or an example of needed compatibility?

No, I can't.  You can't prove the reverse.  It's an axiom.  "All
entities in the file system should behave as much like a flat file
as possible."  You can build a fine system based on that axiom or
some other.  Adhering to this simple axiom rather than something more
complex leads to a simpler, more elegant system, IMHO, but it's a matter of
taste.  That's why arguing about it is pointless, and I won't.

I encourage you to spend your time more productively.


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