"Jim C. Nasby" <jnasby@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes: > How would sync<RETURN>sync<RETURN> differ from sync;sync? The second > case will wait for the first command to return, or is there a race > condition that's reduced by typing by hand? The actual runtime of the "sync" program is epsilon, because it doesn't wait for all the I/O to happen. The entire reason for the custom is that the I/O is going on while you type the second "sync". And yes, it's a race condition. regards, tom lane