-
Some programs will write to a log file only if the log file exists.
If the program isn't running,
try removing the log file.
-
If you remove a log file and the program recreates it, look for command-line
options or a configuration file setup that tells the program not to make the
log file.
-
If your system has
symbolic links (
18.4
)
,
try replacing the log file with a symbolic link to
/dev/null
(
13.14
)
:
#
rm logfile
#
ln -s /dev/null logfile
If you're lucky, the program won't complain and will throw all its messages
in the bit bucket.
Watch out for programs that run at reboot or from the system
crontab
(
40.12
)
to truncate and replace the log file.
These programs might replace the symbolic link with a small regular file
that will start growing again.
-
Does a system mailbox for a user like
uucp
keep getting
mail (
1.33
)
that you want to throw away?
You may be able to add a
.forward
file to the account's home directory
with this single line:
/dev/null
Or add an alias in the system mail alias file that does the same thing:
uucp: /dev/null
If your system has a command like
newaliases
to rebuild the alias
database, don't forget to use it after you make the change.