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Can I safely conclude that the sticky bit is not used in current file sysems and reuse the bit for my own purpose.

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    NO, YOU MAY NOT!! And, if I could set a larger, redder font, I would :-) –  Nov 01 '11 at 05:12

2 Answers2

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Even if it's currently unused for non-directories, others have undoubtedly had the same idea and are probably currently using the sticky bit for their own nefarious purposes. The sticky bit is not meant for arbitrary user-defined marks on a file. Use extended attributes instead!

Teddy
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No, you cannot assume that. It's not true for directories. You can make the narrower assumption that it's true for non-directory files.

rob mayoff
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