[mod.std.unix] What do you call an ex-directory?; V5N8

std-unix@ut-sally.UUCP (Moderator, John Quarterman) (01/06/86)

Date: Sun, 5 Jan 86 19:14:39 est
From: seismo!allegra!phri!roy@sally.UTEXAS.EDU (Roy Smith)
Subject: What do you call an ex-directory? (or, "it's not dead, just sleeping")

	This may fall more into the category of a trivia question rather
than something that demands being standardized, but here goes anyway.  Try
the following:

	% mkdir temp
	% cd temp
	% csh
	% cd ..
	% rmdir temp
	% exit
	% pwd

	I just did that on my 4.2 system and got back "/".  If I remember
correctly, the corresponding sequence on version 6, using sh instead of csh
of course, would give you "".  Is there a standard for what getwd() should
return in the face of an error?  Should there be (i.e. is it worth it)?  It
seems to me that the version 6 answer is somehow more accurate, even if it
is not actually any more useful.

Roy Smith <allegra!phri!roy>
System Administrator, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016

Volume-Number: Volume 5, Number 8