Date: 08 Oct 2002 11:51:18 -0700 From: swear@attbi.com (Gary W. Swearingen) To: Peter Leftwich <Hostmaster@Video2Video.Com> Cc: SweeTLeaF <SweeTLeaF@myrealbox.com>, FreeBSD LIST <FreeBSD-Questions@FreeBSD.Org> Subject: Re: help with ln "linking" Please! [attn manpage authors!] Message-ID: <zgsmzg69y1.mzg@localhost.localdomain> In-Reply-To: <20021008011209.B35848-100000@earl-grey.cloud9.net> References: <20021008011209.B35848-100000@earl-grey.cloud9.net>
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Peter Leftwich <Hostmaster@Video2Video.Com> writes: > The manpage is super unclear about sourcefile and targetfile, I have said > this for years. Think of this paragraph: > > SYNOPSIS > ln [-fhinsv] source_file [target_file] ... > ... as this instead `ln -s actualfile linkfile` That's not the best way to think of it, since "actualfile" need not be an actual file! Nor "existing", as the manual has. The "source" concept is actually pretty good, since the "source file" is used as the source of data when "target file" is accessed. Confusion comes about mostly because the "ls" command shows an arrow pointing from the target (AKA destination) to the source, backwards from what most people would expect when thinking of source and destination/target. The arrow points away from the target! It also shows them in reverse order from how they are given to "ln". How about this: ln [-fhinsv] source_filename [link_filename] I just TRY to remember them as being bassackwards from the more natural order of "ls": link -> source Anybody else have terms they'd prefer the manual use in both the SYNOPSIS and DESCRIPTION? Peter, who have you "said this for years" TO? Have you filed a Problem Report which I could send a patch for? If so, what's the number? To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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