The Great "Hard Return" Debate

[Jay Gibberman]

On Fri, 5 Nov 1999 13:36:23 -0800, Steve Lamb wrote:

>
>    No.  /dev/scd0 is a device which may be mounted on a mount point.  A mount
>point is a directory.  

Gee Steve,  you don't seem to understand that in Unix there is no such thing as a 
directory. A directory is a file, in fact, everything is a file. The operating system itself 
does not distinguish between a file or a directory, case in point you can open a 
directory as a file. All of the directory structure is symbolic links regardless of how it
appears to the user. So no, not as far as the underpinning source code is concerned.

..but...thank you for making my argument for me. The file system is not the device. 
Mounting does not physically transform the cdrom , it merely attaches it in a seamless 
fashion. The hard drive isn't the file system either. They are devices. Ergo...a cdrom is 
not a file system (or subdirectory) even in Unix. It is mounted ...attached...but not transformed. 
Since directories are nothing more than files, EVERYTHING is a symbolic link TECHNICALLY 
SPEAKING since every entry is a pointer to the actual data. A Symbolic link is nothing more 
than a DUPLICATE of  the FCB.  If one uses the LN command to create a link in another "directory"
it is a static copy of the FCB.

 :P

-Jay

P.S. I am very disappointed in myself for not having
the impulse control to avoid this entirely meaningless
argument and apologize in advance to the others on 
the list for my lack of self control.