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Date:      Sun, 19 Oct 2003 19:20:53 +1000
From:      Q <q_dolan@yahoo.com.au>
To:        "Bjoern A. Zeeb" <bzeeb-lists@lists.zabbadoz.net>
Cc:        current@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: binaries installed mult. times / no symlinks ?
Message-ID:  <1066555252.77544.12.camel@boxster.onthenet.com.au>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.4.53.0310190842520.19835@e0-0.zab2.int.zabbadoz.net>
References:  <Pine.BSF.4.53.0310190842520.19835@e0-0.zab2.int.zabbadoz.net>

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If you had checked the link count you would have seen that the binaries
you mentioned are actually not installed multiple times, but are "hard
linked" under multiple names, and therefore only take up the space of a
single instance of the file. If these binary files are located on the
same filesystem it is preferable to hardlink rather than symlink them. 
I'm not sure if you noticed, but deleting a file with a link count
greater than one will not free up any space, so deleting them is
fruitless unless to plan to delete all of the references.

If you want something really small, check out the picobsd project on the
freebsd website.

Seeya...Q

On Sun, 2003-10-19 at 18:52, Bjoern A. Zeeb wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> I had been going through /usr/bin to see what I would need for a very
> small installation and noticed that there are binaries
> installed multiple times with different names of course.
> 
> My question now would be if symlinking wouldn't suffice ? From those
> that I had not deleted I remember the following duplicates that most
> likely are not all of those exist...
> 
> 	Mail -> mail
> 	Mail -> mailx
> 	less -> more
> 	awk -> nawk
> 	nvi -> nview
> 	cksum -> sum
> 	reset -> tset
> 	nvi -> vi
> 	nvi -> view



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