Re: [boost] filesystem/directory.hpp header redux

From: Dylan Nicholson (dylan_nicholson_at_[hidden])
Date: 2002-03-27 15:19:56

 --- Ross Smith <r-smith_at_[hidden]> wrote: > Dylan Nicholson wrote:
> > 
> > >
> > access(filename, W_OK) == W_OK?
> 
> That gives you the access rights for your real user/group id, not your
> effective user/group id -- i.e. it tells you whether the user running
> the process can write to the file, not whether the calling process can.
> 
But it is the only recognised way under POSIX of determining whether a file is
writable.  It is certainly what is used by a large body of existing software. 
If POSIX defines it to work as you say then there is surely some reason for
this (I'd be intrigued to know why).  I would guess that processes that
typically run with a different effective-uid have to be careful in general
about checking permissions etc.  As it is probably most of them run with
effective-id = root so it's often not an issue anyway.

Dylan

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