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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!nntp.coast.net!fu-berlin.de!news.dfn.de!news.ruhr-uni-bochum.de!news.uni-stuttgart.de!news.rhrz.uni-bonn.de!saph2.physik.uni-bonn.de!juengst From: juengst@saph1.physik.uni-bonn.de (Henry G. Juengst) Newsgroups: comp.unix.misc,comp.unix.bsd.misc Subject: Re: How to delete files within C programs Date: 18 May 1996 17:55:02 GMT Organization: Institut fuer Strahlen- und Kernphysik Lines: 53 Sender: juengst@saph2.physik.uni-bonn.de (Henry G. Juengst) Distribution: world Message-ID: <4nl2tm$gpj@news.rhrz.uni-bonn.de> References: <Oum-El-Kheir.Benkahla-3004961724540001@mac-ugm-3.imag.fr> <4n76vv$29j@innocence.interface-business.de> <kaleb.832080109@exalt> <4naf20$bdh@news.rhrz.uni-bonn.de> <DrEv0E.17A@kithrup.com> <4nb1tf$qv8@news.rhrz.uni-bonn.de> <4ncnjb$148@anorak.coverform.lan> Reply-To: juengst@saph1.physik.uni-bonn.de NNTP-Posting-Host: saph1.physik.uni-bonn.de Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.misc:22856 comp.unix.bsd.misc:1079 In article <4ncnjb$148@anorak.coverform.lan>, brian@awfulhak.demon.co.uk (Brian Somers) writes: >Henry G. Juengst (juengst@saph1.physik.uni-bonn.de) wrote: > >: I do not want to deny that it is possible to find the information (in >: most cases). I just want to make people sensitive for the problems >: of beginners and I hate answers like 'very simple solution', if it is >: in fact not a trivial solution. People would never ask if it is simple. > >Not true. I know lots of people who couldn't be bothered to find out for >themselves. They ask someone. I have no problems with such people as >long as they remember the answer. > >The point is, it _IS_ a 'very simple solution'. If a person is writing >C code under Unix, you must assume that they are using an editor. This >almost definitely means vi or emacs. Knowing how to use these - even >knowing how to get by with these involves a learning curve far greater >than deleting a file (and don't start talking about links - it's >irrelevent - the file is gone from _my_ view). > >If this person has problems with calling a function and passing it a >filename - if they find it "difficult", they should not be programming. > >Calling unlink is a _TRIVIAL_ solution ! You assume that all people think in the same way, which is not true. Some can learn vokabularies easy, but have more problems to understand connections. Others learn vokabularies slowly, but see the solution if they have some assosiations. This has nothing to do with intelligence. The names and the style of the unix/C functions do not offer much assosiations (perhaps with FORTRAN 77) and systematic manner. Therefore it is not trivial for everybody. I have taught people much more than one decade and this is one of the conclusions I had to accept. > >: Henry > >-- >Brian <brian@awfulhak.demon.co.uk> >Don't _EVER_ lose your sense of humour.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just fetch ftp://boss1.physik.uni-bonn.de/pub/elch/digital_elch.tar.gz and ftp://boss1.physik.uni-bonn.de/pub/elch/lanzarote/swf3elch_lanzarote_??.jpg, especially #11. ==:-))) Henry -- juengst@saph1.physik.uni-bonn.de [131.220.161.1] (Internet) omni:.de.uni-bonn.physik.saph1::juengst (DECnet/OSI, phase V) saph1::juengst [26.358] (DECnet, phase IV) Any opinions in this mail are my own.