[Samba] Permission on sharing file/folder

[John H Terpstra]

On Tuesday 14 June 2005 13:07, James Knott wrote:
> John H Terpstra wrote:
> > Please help me to understand how that would work. If I can modify a file
> > I can delete its contents - after all, that is what modification permits.
> > If I can modify the contents of a file by deleting it, how does that
> > differ from not being able to delete the file? Perhaps I am really dense
> > here.
> >
> > Under UNIX write capability means deletion capability. How does one
> > implement modification without deletion in a UNIX environment?
>
> Modifying a file and deleting it are two entirely different things.  If
> you create or delete a file, you're modifying the file that describes
> the directory contents, not the contents of the directory.  The most you
> can do, if you can't delete the file, is reduce it to zero bytes.
> However, you won't be able to delete the file.

I believe I understood the mechanics. My question remains: If I can delete the 
contents of a file, but not delete name entry in the directory, what have I 
gained? Please explain to me the net benefit of not being able to delete the 
directory entry.

- John T.