* doc/autoconf.texi (Limitations of Usual Tools): Describe

problems with mkdir -p -m.

diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index f68f9b867cf7a6d4498c4186ce7784d1bb257ec0..1bc6d76b38211a0d4c264dd7386f16d09793340b 100644 (file)
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+2006-10-09  Paul Eggert  <eggert@cs.ucla.edu>
+
+       * doc/autoconf.texi (Limitations of Usual Tools): Describe
+       problems with mkdir -p -m.
+
 2006-10-06  Paul Eggert  <eggert@cs.ucla.edu>
 
        * lib/autoconf/c.m4 (_AC_PROG_PREPROC_WORKS_IFELSE): Remove

diff --git a/doc/autoconf.texi b/doc/autoconf.texi
index 0075384cb6ccd13a9c2650e2a8a95e23170b76c1..335164a612385fc8db93db98f657f59428599c0a 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/autoconf.texi
+++ b/doc/autoconf.texi
@@ -13476,6 +13476,13 @@ No @command{mkdir} option is portable to older systems.  Instead of
 @code{AS_MKDIR_P(@var{file-name})} (@pxref{Programming in M4sh})
 or @code{AC_PROG_MKDIR_P} (@pxref{Particular Programs}).
 
+Combining the @option{-m} and @option{-p} options, as in @samp{mkdir -m
+go-w -p @var{dir}}, often leads to trouble.  Free@acronym{BSD}
+@command{mkdir} incorrectly attempts to change the permissions of
+@var{dir} even if it already exists.  @acronym{HP-UX} 11.23 and
+@acronym{IRIX} 6.5 @command{mkdir} often assign the wrong permissions to
+any newly-created parents of @var{dir}.
+
 Posix does not clearly specify whether @samp{mkdir -p foo}
 should succeed when @file{foo} is a symbolic link to an already-existing
 directory.  The @acronym{GNU} Core Utilities 5.1.0 @command{mkdir}