Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] noatime

[Michael <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

> What is access time?  In this context, I'm guessing that it means the last
> time the file was accessed.  It doesn't mean the time when the file was
> last altered, and it doesn't mean the amount of time it took to access the
> file.  Is that right?
> 
> If so, I guess I wouldn't have much use for access times.  What are they
> usually used for?

That's pretty much it. Usually it just keeps track of the last time a 
file was accessed. find is the only utility I can think of that makes 
use of it and I'm the only person I've seen use that option. You can 
access it when programming to of course but rarely does anyone do so. 
Access time can be useful in rare cases but IMO not enough to be enabled 
for every filesystem. I'm somewhat surprised it's even on by default. 
It's bad because it forces the filesystem to write data to the drive 
every time any file is used.. even if it isn't modified.

-- 
Peace, Love, Linux

Michael <EMAIL:PROTECTED>
http://kavlon.org

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