[comp.unix.xenix] dbm confuses fsck on SCO?

chip@killer.UUCP (Chip Rosenthal) (12/22/87)

Ever since I started using dbm databases under SCO version 2.2, fsck
has been giving me the following message:

    POSSIBLE FILE SIZE ERROR I=1485

This inode is for my .pag database file.  Quoteth from dbm(S):

    The .pag file will contain holes so that its apparent size is about
    four times its actual content.  Older XENIX systems may create real
    file blocks for these holes when touched.  These files cannot be
    copied by normal means (cp, cat, tp, tar, ar) without filling in the
    holes.

My uninformed guess is that:  (1) some of the entries in the disk block
pointer list are zero to indicate an unused block, (2) di_size is
including the BSIZE*(number of unused blocks) in its count, and (3)
fsck is noting this discrepancy.

Is this what is going on?  Is this error message reasonable and/or normal?
The only other time I've used dbm was on a Eunice machine, and VMS never
complained about any inode problems :-).

-- 
Chip Rosenthal         chip@vector.UUCP		| But if you want to sing the
Dallas Semiconductor     (214) 450-0400		|  blues, then boy you better
{texsun,codas,ihnp4}!killer!vector!chip		|  learn how to lose.