Begin forwarded message:
Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2010 13:58:59 -0500 From: Derick Centeno <[email protected]> To: Eric Blake <[email protected]> Subject: Re: side-effect implementing the mv command On Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:08:55 -0700 Eric Blake <[email protected]> wrote: > [please keep replies on the list, so that others may chime in] > > According to Derick Centeno on 3/2/2010 5:50 PM: > >> I'm not quite sure what you saw or what you are asking. If this is still > >> an issue for you, could you post more context, such as some 'ls -l *.so' > >> listings in both the source and destination directories? Also, are the > >> two directories on the same disk, where rename(2) would work, or was it a > >> cross-device move, where mv(1) has to create the copy before deleting the > >> original? > >> > > > > Thanks for your response on this query, Eric. > > > > Background: > > I had downloaded a java plugin designed for PowerPC systems, as I'm running > > Linux on a PowerPC. That plugin is known as: libjavaplugin_oji.so > > Originally it was installed into: /opt/ibm/java-ppc-60/jre/plugin/ppc/ns7 > > > > It is supposed to be moved into: /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins > > > > When I executed the mv command from within the ns7 directory by doing: > > $ sudo mv ./libjavaplugin_oji.so /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins > > Maybe the issue is related to the fact that you were trying to move a > symlink, rather than an actual file? If the symlink contains a relative > filename, the moved symlink will contain the same relative name, but by > virtue of the fact that it lives in a different directory, it will (most > likely) resolve to something different than what it referred to in the > original location. > > > > > Eric, it was only after I studied the man/info pages more carefully > > regarding how mv should be executed (and other references) and how it > > should behave that I checked the directory where it was and where I > > expected it to go. > > > > Here it is in the ns7 directory: > > > > [agu...@arakus ns7]$ ls > > libjavaplugin_oji.so > > > > Here is what the plugins directory looks like: > > > > [agu...@arakus plugins]$ ls > > libgnashplugin.la libgnashplugin.lai libgnashplugin.so > > libjavaplugin_oji.so > > I asked for 'ls -l' so we could see full details, such as which files are > symlinks. According to your screenshot, you happen to have plain 'ls' > aliased to a coloring version; with the four files on that line colored > red, black, green, and blue (I'm guessing dangling symlink, regular file, > symlink, executable); but rather than having to decode your colors, an 'ls > -l' would have shown that unambiguously in black and white. > > > Thanks for the explanation regarding the function of ls -l, quite instructive. Note: All directories are on the same disk. Here is your request: [agu...@arakus ~]$ cd /opt/ibm/java*/jre/plugin/ppc/ns7 [agu...@arakus ns7]$ ls -l total 164 -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 163244 Dec 14 23:39 libjavaplugin_oji.so [agu...@arakus ns7]$ cd /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins [agu...@arakus plugins]$ ls -l total 52 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 20 Dec 15 16:59 libgnashplugin.la -> ../libgnashplugin.la -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 869 Jan 24 2008 libgnashplugin.lai -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 45000 Jan 24 2008 libgnashplugin.so lrwxrwxrwx 1 aguila aguila 60 Jan 13 22:39 libjavaplugin_oji.so -> /opt/ibm/java-ppc-60/jre/plugin/ppc/ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so [agu...@arakus plugins]$ As you can see libjavaplugin_oji.so in the ns7 directory is a shared object not a symlink. What I reported earlier is accurate. I originally executed mv in a non-standard manner on this shared object file itself. For me, developing an understanding mv's program logic as it executed a symbolic link back to the shared object file would be worth pursuing. By the term, side effect, I mean unexpected/undocumented/ambiguous results generated by malformed or unusual commands. The command I executed to mv was non-standard and produced the creation of a symbolic link which I've not found referrenced as a standard function of mv. I believe deducing the program logic executed by mv as it followed the directive as I structured it, is worth investigating. Thanks to Eric, and all others on this list in helping me work through this conundrum. Derick. ========= Refranes/Popular sayings: The Taino say:No hay mal que por bien no venga. There is no evil out of which good cannot blossom. ========= Refranes/Popular sayings: The Taino say:No hay mal que por bien no venga. There is no evil out of which good cannot blossom.
signature.asc
Description: PGP signature
