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Talking about permissions.

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Nathaniel Beaver
2015-08-25 17:38:55 -05:00
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@@ -631,20 +631,34 @@ have `implemented work-arounds`_.
.. _implemented work-arounds: http://legacy.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0397/
.. _cannot indicate it is version 2 or 3: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7574453/shebang-notation-python-scripts-on-windows-and-linux
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Read-only permissions semantics.
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Ineffectual read-only permissions semantics.
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Read-only files on Windows `can be moved, renamed, or deleted`_.
`Folders cannot have a read-only status`_.
Permissions are a big topic in multi-user computing,
and both Linux and Windows have adapted over time,
each with various advantages and disadvantages. [#unix_groups]_ [#ntfs_permissions_flaw]_
However, here is a specific example
of a relatively simple, single-user permissions feature:
it is sometimes desirable to set old files as read-only,
so that they are still easily accessible,
but are less likely to be accidentally deleted, moved, or modified.
Unfortunately, while the contents of read-only files on Windows cannot be changed,
the files themselves `can be moved, renamed, or deleted`_,
because `folders cannot have a read-only status`_.
.. _can be moved, renamed, or deleted: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/prevent-changes-to-a-file-by-setting-it-to-read-only
.. _Folders cannot have a read-only status: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/prevent-changes-to-a-file-or-folder-read-only
.. _folders cannot have a read-only status: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/prevent-changes-to-a-file-or-folder-read-only
Linux, by contrast, inherits a sophisticated permissions model from Unix,
which was designed as a multi-user system.
This means that, for example, a read-only folder cannot have files added to it,
and read-only files cannot be moved, renamed, or deleted without first removing the read-only status.
In Linux, by contrast, a read-only directory cannot have files added to it,
and files in such a directory cannot be moved, renamed, or deleted
without first removing the read-only status from the directory they are in.
Modifications of the contents of the files depend on the the individual file permissions.
.. [#unix_groups] Unix permissions, for example, are not a panacea: https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/164303/single-user-for-sharing-vs-multiple-users
.. [#ntfs_permissions_flaw] NTFS permissions have their own issues, e.g. https://serverfault.com/questions/31709/how-to-workaround-the-ntfs-move-copy-design-flaw
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Architectural deficiencies of Windows