broken /usr/bin/file behaviour

[Julian Field]

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The "file" command is very clever, but it doesn't get the answer right 
100% of the time, only about 99.99% of the time. It looks at the 
characters at the beginning of the file to infer what type of content is 
in the file, ignoring its filename altogether. It really is a work of 
art, it just cannot guarantee to get it right all the time.

File it as a bug in the "file" command, they should be able to expand 
the "magic" file (which holds the detection signature table) so that it 
successfully deduces that this file is in fact a text file and not a 
QuickTime movie (a very short one :-)

Greg Matthews wrote:

>Whoever wrote libmagic seems to be a fan of the BBC comedy "Are you
>being served?"
>
>create an ascii file that begins:
>I'm free
>
>and then run /usr/bin/file against it. It is reported as:
>Apple QuickTime movie file (free)
>
>Does this count as a bug - it has certainly bugged one of my users who
>has had his email blocked as a result.
>
>GREG
>  
>

-- 
Julian Field
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