Protection Bits

The protection bits are a group of flags that are stored with the file that
determine the characteristics of the file.  These flags are given one
character names.  The protection bits currently in use are HSPARWED.


  H  Hidden:
    If this flag is set, the file is not normally displayed.  This allows
    you to mark certain files as "invisible" to avoid cluttering your
    directories.  The file can still be accessed normally, and not all
    programs implement this flag.

  S  Script:
    A script file is a file containing a list of AmigaDOS commands to
    execute; it is like a simple computer program.

    This flag indicates that the file in question is a script file.

    A script file is sometimes called a batch file.

  P  Pure:
    If a program file is flagged as pure, it can be made to remain in
    memory, even when not in use, This can save a great deal of time,
    especially if the program is used a lot, as it does not have to be
    loaded from disk each time.

  A  Archive:
    This flag indicates that the file has not been changed.  If this file
    is ever written to, the A flag will be turned off.  This can be used in
    a hard disk backup program, to record which files have been backed up,
    and need not be backed up again.

  R  Readable:
    If this flag is set, the file can be accessed.

  W  Writable:
    If this flag is set, the file can be written to (i.e., more information
    can be stored in it than is already there).

  E  Executable:
    If a program file does not have this flag set, it can not be run.

  D  Deletable:
    If this flag is not set, the file can not be deleted.


These flags can be changed in a file with the  Protect  function.