Author: Stan Eisenstat
Subject: Re: [Cs323] Broken Symbolic Links Weird Behavior
Date: Monday, 14 Sep 2020, 09:02:04

    > Message Posted By: Unknown
    >
    > Inside my file, I have a broken symbolic link linking down into a
    > subdirectory that no longer exists. In this case, ./hwk1/linkToLink3 links
    > to /home/accts/xxx1/cs323/hwk1/a/linkToLink3 which doesn't exist.
    >
    > However, the terminal prints:
    > ./hwk1/linkToLink3
    > fiend: Loop at ./linkToLink3
    >
    > even though the loop does not actually exist since the link leads nowhere.

Using your fiend?  If Hwk1/fiend, please contact me directly if
since I cannot recreate that behavior.
=====

    > For working links that loop, the staff Fiend prints only an error. For
    > broken links, the staff fiend just prints the name of the broken link. Is
    > this behavior intentional?

Since as stated in the man page for find:

  -L Follow symbolic links.  When find examines or prints information about
     files, the information used shall be taken from the properties of the
     file to which the link points, not from the link itself (unless it is a
     broken symbolic link or find is unable to examine the file to which the
     link points).  ...

the behavior of Hwk1/fiend is correct.

Best,

--Stan-