The nitty gritty of Unix rights management
A frequently asked IT interview question concerns the "sticky bit." I do not personally ask this question when vetting a candidate, because I think anyone who knows the answers is, at best, showing good interview preparation. It does not provide any proof of professional expertise. However, many Silicon Valley companies have the question in their catalog and, as a player in the software industry's major league, you need to know the answer to unnecessary questions.
That's why I picked the topic for the Perl column this month. What is the sticky bit's purpose? Michael Kerrisk's book [2] – as always – helps when it comes to tricky Unix questions. As a hardback, this tome with more than 1,500 pages seems to be designed for bodybuilders, but it is easy to carry around anywhere as an e-book. Those who think they understand the intricacies of programming in Unix will stand back in amazement upon reading this epic book: Even gray-bearded Unix gurus will discover intriguing facts from the depths of this resource, time and time again.
For example, did you know that users on a Unix system can delete a file from a directory even if they do not have any write permissions on the file? Correct: Only write and execute permissions are required for the directory the file is located in, and the file's permissions don't matter at all. Listing 1 creates new directory test
in the current directory for demonstration purposes and uses the 0333
octal value to assign permissions of -wx-wx-wx.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.
-
Plasma Ends LTS Releases
The KDE Plasma development team is doing away with the LTS releases for a good reason.
-
Arch Linux Available for Windows Subsystem for Linux
If you've ever wanted to use a rolling release distribution with WSL, now's your chance.
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.
-
So Long, ArcoLinux
The ArcoLinux distribution is the latest Linux distribution to shut down.
-
What Open Source Pros Look for in a Job Role
Learn what professionals in technical and non-technical roles say is most important when seeking a new position.
-
Asahi Linux Runs into Issues with M4 Support
Due to Apple Silicon changes, the Asahi Linux project is at odds with adding support for the M4 chips.