I agree it doesn't cause any "harm" - it just seems somewhat random or awkward to have some attrib_0 files and others not have any.
Before writing back an attrib file, why not just check if it is empty and delete it rather than overwriting it with an attrib_0. You probably make that check anyway since a zero length attrib file would have an md5sum of "d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e" anyway. In the end, less clutter and fewer inodes used should be better and faster... Craig Barratt via BackupPC-users wrote at about 21:23:24 -0700 on Tuesday, June 9, 2020: > Jeff, > > I don't think there's much different whether a directory has an empty > attrib file or not. The reason they exist is when a directory ends up > being empty after updating the directory. The reason a directory might > exist without one is when reverse deltas require a change deeper in the > directory tree, which causes the unfilled backup to create the intermediate > directories, which won't get attrib files unless rsync needs to make > changes at that level too. > > Craig > > On Mon, Jun 8, 2020 at 9:34 PM <backu...@kosowsky.org> wrote: > > > I have some empty attrib files, labeled attrib_0. > > Note that the directory it represents, has no subdirectories. So, I would > > have > > thought that no attrib file was present/necessary -- which seems to be > > the case in most of my empty directories. > > > > So what is the difference (and rationale) for attrib_0 vs no attrib > > file. > > Does that have to do with a prior/subsequent file deletion? > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > BackupPC-users mailing list > > BackupPC-users@lists.sourceforge.net > > List: https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/backuppc-users > > Wiki: http://backuppc.wiki.sourceforge.net > > Project: http://backuppc.sourceforge.net/ > > > _______________________________________________ > BackupPC-users mailing list > BackupPC-users@lists.sourceforge.net > List: https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/backuppc-users > Wiki: http://backuppc.wiki.sourceforge.net > Project: http://backuppc.sourceforge.net/ _______________________________________________ BackupPC-users mailing list BackupPC-users@lists.sourceforge.net List: https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/backuppc-users Wiki: http://backuppc.wiki.sourceforge.net Project: http://backuppc.sourceforge.net/
