Is it not true that all files (except those created with maybe an FOPEN of
the form that allows a temporary unnamed file) are created with a link,
otherwise we wouldn't be able to reference the file by name?  That would
mean that logically, there is no difference (other than link name) between
the link created by merely creating the file, and the link created with the
NEWLINK command?

Maybe an expert on the internals can give us a tutorial on the data
structures involved.

-d

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Johnson, Tracy [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2000 12:50 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: MPE misdesign
>
>
> Once I came across the incongruity that PURGELINK will purge
> a file whether it is a link or not.
>
> When I want to purge a link ONLY, I use MPEX and qualify
> whether the file is a link using the logical "ISLINK"
> parameter (defaults to TRUE) as follows:
>
> PURGELINK fileset.groupset.accountset(ISLINK)
>
> Tracy Johnson
> MSI Schaevitz Sensors
>
> > Ted suggests:
> >
> > > Pssst, HP.  Fix this instead!
> > >
> > >  Here's my official complaint/warning/whatever about how
> > :PURGE deals with
> > >  links.  A :PURGE of a link does *not* purge the link.  It
> > purges the file
> > > the
> > >  link points to.  It's not at all obvious to me why one
> > would want it to do
> > >  this and I'd rather not think too long about my recent
> > experience regarding
> > >  why one would NOT want it to do this!
> > >
> > >  For anyone not terribly familiar with links, be warned --
> > :PURGE is not the
> > >  same as :RM.HPBIN.SYS (or :PURGELINK for that matter).
> > >
> > >  For anyone else, can you give me some understanding of
> why this was
> > designed
> > >  this way?
>