Quoting Ron Peterson ([EMAIL PROTECTED]): > Debian FAQ item 7.2 says that "The kernel (filesystem) in Debian > GNU/Linux systems supports replacing files even while they're being > used." > > How is this accomplished?
When you, say, run a program called fred, the OS finds the inode for the file from the directory. When the file is opened, only the inode is used as a handle; the directory is not reconsulted. Therefore you can now remove the directory entry for fred, or create a new version of the file which will have a new inode to store its contents, and a new directory entry pointing to it. The old inode and the associated diskspace will be recovered when programs using it terminate, as there's no directory entry pointing to it any more. This is standard functionality for inode-type filesystems. Cheers, -- Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: +44 1908 653 739 Fax: +44 1908 655 151 Snail: David Wright, Earth Science Dept., Milton Keynes, England, MK7 6AA Disclaimer: These addresses are only for reaching me, and do not signify official stationery. Views expressed here are either my own or plagiarised.
