Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S264513AbUFNWJu (ORCPT ); Mon, 14 Jun 2004 18:09:50 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S264540AbUFNWJu (ORCPT ); Mon, 14 Jun 2004 18:09:50 -0400 Received: from pdbn-d9bb9e93.pool.mediaWays.net ([217.187.158.147]:9733 "EHLO citd.de") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S264513AbUFNWJq (ORCPT ); Mon, 14 Jun 2004 18:09:46 -0400 Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 00:09:17 +0200 From: Matthias Schniedermeyer To: Alexandre Oliva Cc: Cesar Eduardo Barros , linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, Alexander Viro Subject: Re: [PATCH] O_NOATIME support Message-ID: <20040614220917.GA18941@citd.de> References: <20040612011129.GD1967@flower.home.cesarb.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: User-Agent: Mutt/1.3.27i Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Content-Length: 1684 Lines: 42 On Mon, Jun 14, 2004 at 06:12:59PM -0300, Alexandre Oliva wrote: > On Jun 11, 2004, Cesar Eduardo Barros wrote: > > > int O_NOATIME Macro > > If this bit is set, read will not update the access time of the file. > > See File Times. This is used by programs that do backups, so that > > backing a file up does not count as reading it. Only the owner of the > > file or the superuser may use this bit. > > IMHO it's a bad idea to enable the owner of the file to avoid changing > the atime of their files. I've heard more than once about the atime > bit being used to as proof that a user had actually seen the contents > of a file although s/he claimed s/he hadn't. If it was root-only, > atime could still be used for the same purpose, and would enable > backups with tools that accessed the filesystem through the FS layer, > as opposed to though the block layer, to keep such proof unchanged. man mount /noatime -> You can disable updating the atime for the whole filesystem. man utimes/touch -a -> You can modify "at will" the atime & mtime of a file. Or in other words, nothing you can't already manipulate at will today. Bis denn -- Real Programmers consider "what you see is what you get" to be just as bad a concept in Text Editors as it is in women. No, the Real Programmer wants a "you asked for it, you got it" text editor -- complicated, cryptic, powerful, unforgiving, dangerous. - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/