+2006-07-25 Paul Eggert <eggert@cs.ucla.edu>
+
+ * tests/cp/fail-perm: Use "chmod 0500" rather than "chmod 500".
+ Problem report and fix from Bob Proulx.
+ * NEWS: Clarify the "chmod 0500" news, and correct the vague
+ statements about compatibility with BSD.
+
2006-07-25 Jim Meyering <jim@meyering.net>
* src/ls.c (gobble_file): When handling a stat-failed entry,
basename and dirname now treat // as different from / on platforms
where the two are distinct.
- chmod, install, and mkdir now leave a directory's set-user-ID and
- set-group-ID bits alone unless you explicitly request otherwise.
- This is for compatibility with BSD and other systems. For example,
+ chmod, install, and mkdir now preserve a directory's set-user-ID and
+ set-group-ID bits unless you explicitly request otherwise. E.g.,
`chmod 755 DIR' and `chmod u=rwx,go=rx DIR' now preserve DIR's
- set-user-ID and set-group-ID bits instead of clearing them. If
- you want to clear the bits you can mention them explicitly, e.g.,
- `chmod 0755 DIR' and `chmod a-s,u=rwx,go=rx DIR'.
+ set-user-ID and set-group-ID bits instead of clearing them, and
+ similarly for `mkdir -m 755 DIR' and `mkdir -m u=rwx,go=rx DIR'. To
+ clear the bits, mention them explicitly, e.g., `chmod 0755 DIR' or
+ `mkdir -m a-s,u=rwx,go=rx DIR'. This change is for convenience on
+ systems where these bits inherit from parents. Unfortunately other
+ operating systems are not consistent here, and portable scripts
+ cannot assume the bits are set, cleared, or preserved, even when the
+ bits are explicitly mentioned. For example, OpenBSD 3.9 `mkdir -m
+ 777 D' preserves D's setgid bit but `chmod 777 D' clears it.
+ Conversely, Solaris 10 `mkdir -m 777 D', `mkdir -m g-s D', and
+ `chmod 0777 D' all preserve D's setgid bit, and you must use
+ something like `chmod g-s D' to clear it.
`cp --link --no-dereference' now works also on systems where the
link system call cannot create a hard link to a symbolic link.