i noticed, that with this code, the $user file still gets
unlinked.

the file DOES exist, "test" does NOT get printed, and there
is no message of "user deleted" or "can't unlink".

For the rest, it's a standard debian install of php, with
the newest version of php installed (nightly update, regular upgrade).

(this code is part of an administration script, which adds
and deletes users)

code sample
=====
        if(!strcmp($adddelete, "delete"))
        {
                if(file_exists($user))
                {
                        echo "test";
                        if(unlink($user))
                        {
                              echo "user deleted.<br>";
                        }
                        else
                        {
                              //error
                              echo "can't unlink<br>";
                        }
                }
                else
                {
                     //error
                     echo "$user doesn't exist<br>";
                }
        }
        else
        {
               //error
               echo "wrong input<br>";
       }
====
end code sample