From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: "Stefan Monnier " Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: Software/HD ecology Date: 16 Dec 2002 16:02:57 -0500 Organization: Yale University Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+gnu-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Message-ID: <5llm2pekxq.fsf@rum.cs.yale.edu> References: <041220020952400758%ajanta@no.spam> <56cfb0e3.0212041458.5eab182a@posting.google.com> <061220020416350201%ajanta@no.spam> <071220021155280606%ajanta@no.spam> <5ld6obj8il.fsf@rum.cs.yale.edu> <091220021652087216%ajanta@no.spam> <111220021101520860%ajanta@no.spam> <111220021253524057%ajanta@no.spam> <5l65u0i8zj.fsf@rum.cs.yale.edu> <111220022053507599%ajanta@no.spam> <87u1hjdwta.fsf@hurd.crasseux.com> <121220021419243187%anil@null.invalid> <161220021454522181%ajanta@no.spam> NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: main.gmane.org 1040073442 19732 80.91.224.249 (16 Dec 2002 21:17:22 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@main.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 21:17:22 +0000 (UTC) Return-path: Original-Received: from monty-python.gnu.org ([199.232.76.173]) by main.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 18O2c2-00057n-00 for ; Mon, 16 Dec 2002 22:17:18 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.10.13) id 18O2WC-0003e1-03 for gnu-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Mon, 16 Dec 2002 16:11:16 -0500 Original-Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!logbridge.uoregon.edu!tethys.csu.net!news-hog.berkeley.edu!ucberkeley!news.ycc.yale.edu!rum.cs.yale.edu!rum.cs.yale.edu Original-Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.text.tex,gnu.emacs.help Original-Lines: 16 Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: rum.cs.yale.edu User-Agent: Gnus/5.09 (Gnus v5.9.0) Emacs/21.3.50 X-Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: rum.cs.yale.edu X-Original-Trace: 16 Dec 2002 16:02:58 -0500, rum.cs.yale.edu Original-Xref: shelby.stanford.edu comp.sys.mac.apps:349057 gnu.emacs.help:108186 Original-To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1b5 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Archive: List-Unsubscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+gnu-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:4716 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.help:4716 >>>>> "Ajanta" == Ajanta writes: > When I run a command like "ls -l file" I can get a lot of information > about a file's type, size, ownership, date created/modified. Whether > that qualifies as a "log" to somebody or not is a rather dull semantic > issue. The system does store and update information on files. These kinds of info are more akin to `state'. One major difference between `state' and `log' is that a `log' is `append only'. The info you describe is always kept uptodate but you can't know what it was before the last modification, so it's very clearly not a `log'. Maybe it's dull, but it's not subtle. If you don't know what word to use, just use "info" or "thing" so you won't mislead readers. Stefan