[comp.sys.sgi] Strange bru : )

syscrc@GSUSGI1.GSU.EDU (Randy Carpenter) (06/18/91)

We have Operators doing backups on our SGI servers using bru.  
Anybody doing backups with bru is familiar with the "Mount next tape"
message that comes out when you fill up a tape.  Well...about 95% of
the time, our Operators will mount the next tape and gracefully press
the RETURN key.  The other 5% of the time, the Operator sways/stumbles
and doesn't *quite* hit the RETURN key but hits a key very near the
RETURN key (like the quote or bracket key).  When this happens, bru
thinks you want to start backing up to a disk file and fills up your
root partition with a file like "]". :(  I've RT*M and haven't found
a nifty option to say "Don't try to backup to disk".  

Does this happen to anybody else other than us?
Anybody have a work-around?

======================================================================
Randy Carpenter             "mother."                 rcarpent@gsu.edu
Georgia State University         - W. E. Coyote       (404) 651-2648
Wells Computer Center                                     

olson@anchor.esd.sgi.com (Dave Olson) (06/19/91)

In <9106181523.AA25783@gsusgi1.gsu.edu> syscrc@GSUSGI1.GSU.EDU (Randy Carpenter) writes:

| We have Operators doing backups on our SGI servers using bru.  
| Anybody doing backups with bru is familiar with the "Mount next tape"
| message that comes out when you fill up a tape.  Well...about 95% of
| the time, our Operators will mount the next tape and gracefully press
| the RETURN key.  The other 5% of the time, the Operator sways/stumbles
| and doesn't *quite* hit the RETURN key but hits a key very near the
| RETURN key (like the quote or bracket key).  When this happens, bru
| thinks you want to start backing up to a disk file and fills up your
| root partition with a file like "]". :(  I've RT*M and haven't found
| a nifty option to say "Don't try to backup to disk".  
| 
| Does this happen to anybody else other than us?
| Anybody have a work-around?

I myself have always thought this a rather useless and error prone
feature.  You wouldn't believe how many systems we found with
very large files called 'space' (i.e., a space character), because
someone pressed the space bar to unblank the screen, then
pressed RETURN to continue to the next tape.  Unfortunately
there isn't any way to disable the feature.  If enough people
feel strongly about it, something could be added, either by adding
a confirmation message if anything other than return was typed,
or by yet another option on the command line (there must be one
or two capital letters that haven't been used up yet :) ).

All that the current code requires is that isgraph(firstchar) be
true, in order to start using the new name.