GNU bug report logs - #32127
ln: add option to fall-back to softlink if hardlink fails

Previous Next

Full log

View this message in rfc822 format

From: Michael Stone <mstone <at> debian.org>
To: coreutils <at> gnu.org, 32127 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: bug#32127: RFE -- in the way "cp -rl" -- enable 'ln' to do likewise?
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2018 08:51:59 -0400

On Tue, Jul 17, 2018 at 01:25:59AM -0700, L A Walsh wrote:
>	I am not suggesting handing out alternates when you have a
>choice.  I'm suggesting doing something useful in a case where there are
>no alternates and no downsides.  If you can come up with a case where
>a symlink to a directory would do more harm than a hardlink, I might agree,
>but in this case, hardlinks are not supported.  So there can be no
>"dramatic consequences".  I.e. that sounds more like FUD for the sake
>of argument than a sound engineering analysis.

You want to change the semantics of a command that's been around for 40 
years, which can be used as an atomic primitive, which has the very 
simple semantics of "make this hard link or fail", and your idea of a 
"sound engineering analysis" is "I don't see how this could cause a 
problem"?

Previous Next

GNU bug tracking system
Copyright (C) 1999 Darren O. Benham, 1997,2003 nCipher Corporation Ltd, 1994-97 Ian Jackson.