Re: [Gnu-arch-users] [HEY TOM!] unhelpful error for unreadable directories

[Aaron Bentley]

Tom Lord wrote:

> But it is impossible to write usefully correct code that would print
> only:
>
>         "%s is not readable\n", path
>
> (The message printed may be correct but it may not be what the actual
> problem was.)

One way to address the problem would be to put a test for readability 
before the stat.  That would be a pessimization, but it would have the 
same behaviour as doing the test after the stat if the stat failed.

Since unreadable directories are a showstopper, what's wrong with 
reporting that problem if it's encountered?

Aaron