Re: can touch(1) readonly files

[Mike Dresser <mdresser_l@windsormachine.com>]

On Tue, 13 May 2003, Paul Jarc wrote:

> No, the file's metadata is stored in its own inode.  But its
> permission bits affect access only to its data, not to its metadata.
> Metadata is always writable by the owner - otherwise you wouldn't be
> able to restore your own write access after removing it.

Reminds me of a "bug" in the old Icon systems that the schools used
in the early 80's or so.  The immutable(+i) flag couldn't be removed,
even by the superuser because then you'd be modifying the file, which
wasn't allowed cause of the +i.

So if a student did that on a file, it was there forever until the system
was reinstalled.

At least, this is what we were told, I suspect somehow the teacher was
told this by someone who didn't understand how the +i was supposed to
work.

Mike