[tz] Version in zoneinfo files?

Brian Inglis Brian.Inglis at SystematicSw.ab.ca
Fri Feb 10 08:19:12 UTC 2017


On 2017-02-09 19:51, John Hawkinson wrote:
>>> I'd like to put in a plug for having the tz string in the binary file
>>> preceded by @(#) so that it appears when the what(1) utility is invoked.
>>
>> Does anyone still run systems with "what" or sccs on it?
> 
> Yes (to the former, not the latter), although that's beyond the point.
> (It ships under MacOS and I have it on other systems, including Solaris
> and NetBSD).
> 
> But the idea is to have the string displayable using a semi-standard
> tool. That doesn't preclude doing something snazzier.
> An argument could be made that ident(1) is a better choice, although
> I don't think it really is, in part since it would require assigning a
> pseudokeyword like $Tz: ... $. 

Another legacy source control string requiring an RCS utility that has 
not been installed on current systems for many years AFAIK, except 
maybe on BSD derived distros.

>> I stopped using "what" strings many years ago when "what" stopped
>> being available on systems.  There does appear to be a package
>> available called cssc which is compatible with sccs.
> 
> The BSD version is easily available.

While "what" is a POSIX standard utility, it seems to be present only 
in the POSIX man pages on modern distros, so I don't think either utility 
could now be considered semi-standard.

If either what or ident strings were used, the utility sources or 
a replacement script would have to be added to tzcode, or instructions 
for the curious or serious to install the appropriate legacy package.

-- 
Take care. Thanks, Brian Inglis, Calgary, Alberta, Canada


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