[comp.mail.elm] linked mailbox files and ELM bug

ege@cbnews.att.com (Ernie Englehart) (09/29/90)

Our system is running with ELM 2.2 PL14.

I have found a bug with ELM.  I get mail daily of the same type which can
come from more than one person.  It all used to be sent by the same person,
and I saved it in my folder directory under the default name generated by
ELM.  However, now that the mail is being sent by someone else, I must
change the name when I save the mail.  I thought it would be easy to
create a link to the file, using the ln command, and then I could save
the mail to either place and it would be going into the same mailbox.

This will work until some of the mesages are deleted.  Then ELM will
remove the old file and create a new one with the same name, which destroys
the link.

Example:

	- using mailbox "=box1"
	- ln box1 box2
	- using mailbox "=box2"
	- delete some messages from either box
	- files are now different, link is gone

Has anyone else ever seen this?
-- 
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**  Ernie Englehart - att!cbnmva!ege       **    GO Cincinnati Reds **
**  AT&T Network Systems, Columbus, Ohio   **    ALL THE WAY IN 90! **
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syd@DSI.COM (Syd Weinstein) (09/29/90)

ege@cbnews.att.com (Ernie Englehart) writes:

>Our system is running with ELM 2.2 PL14.
>I have found a bug with ELM.
>I thought it would be easy to
>create a link to the file, using the ln command, and then I could save
>the mail to either place and it would be going into the same mailbox.

>This will work until some of the mesages are deleted.  Then ELM will
>remove the old file and create a new one with the same name, which destroys
>the link.
Its not a bug, but a design item of Elm 2.2, that was changed in
Elm 2.3.  Elm 2.2 always recopied any changed folder.  Elm 2.3
does the copy back, but if the link count is > 1 it does a copy back
and not a move.  I suggest you update.

-- 
=====================================================================
Sydney S. Weinstein, CDP, CCP                   Elm Coordinator
Datacomp Systems, Inc.                          Voice: (215) 947-9900
syd@DSI.COM or dsinc!syd                        FAX:   (215) 938-0235