Re: hypermail schould not overwrite files with mode 0000

Daniel Stenberg wrote:

> > As of remote request I have disabled a web page, i.e. an archived page
> > that refers to a lists mail. I haven't removed it but chmod 0 it.
>
> Should it?
> You have a mailbox, you run hypermail on it to create a number of HTML files.
> You chmod 0 one of the HTML files.
>
> When you run hypermail again you want that chmoded file to remain so?
> Or what part am I missing?

    I think he means, hypermail should now ignore that file and not overwrite it. Since it's now -rwx on all accounts (ugo).

    The problem with this is that the archive will then essentially be screwed. Having turned one file into -w, and expecting hypermail NOT to overwrite it next time it runs, hypermail will now have to figure out what to do with the information that *should* go in that file. And the only solution it has is to make a new file. But, by doing so, it will probably just increment its counter and create a file. Problem, the next file probably already exists, and the next, and the next, and so forth.

    Now, if this was the LAST page archived (let's use an arbitrary number, say archive 1234), and hypermail can't write to it, again, the only possible solution is to create the next one, which will be 1235. The links in msg 1233 will point to 1235, and back. You've now removed a file from the archive, but the information that is in there now got created in the next file, 1235. (NOTE: This is assuming you're re-create the entire archive every time hypermail is run - ALSO NOTE: I'm not 100% sure this is how hypermail should, nor will behave - I haven't tested this. This is all theory right now)

    What other possibilities are there when you turn a file -w? Hypermail stops and complains? What if that file was in the middle of your archive? Hypermail will essentially stop working every time it hits that snag.

    Personally, the best solution I can think off here is one of two things:

    IF (and only if) you're re-creating your archive every time you run hypermail, then open the mailbox up and delete that message. Or (if you're running it in increment mode), then just edit that one file and remove the information you don't want to be displayed. Both these solutions will be substantially less of a headache then trying to figure what should happen when you change a file.

    AMK4

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