std-unix@ut-sally.UUCP (Moderator, John Quarterman) (02/13/86)
>From: harvard!cybvax0!vcvax1!paul (Paul Kleppner)
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 86 18:58:56 est
Bob Devine's proposal on the /etc/TIMEZONE format (volume 5, #47)
looks to me like a good solution to a complicated problem.
I do have one suggestion, though: don't clutter the /etc/TIMEZONE file
with Bourne shell syntax. If the file contained only the two actual values
(separated by a space or tab) and not the "TZ=", "DST=",
and "export" comands, it would be much easier to read by non-Bourne
shells or by other programs, which would otherwise have to filter
out the shell statements.
I should point out that there is no loss in efficiency with this approach.
The login initialization file /etc/profile, instead of containing the line,
. /etc/TIMEZONE
would contain the lines
read TZ DST < /etc/TIMEZONE
export TZ DST
(I believe this will work correctly whether DST has 0 or 2 parts.)
------------
Paul Kleppner
VenturCom, Inc.
617/661-1230
{seismo!harvard,genrad!mit-eddie}!cybvax0!vcvax1!paul
Volume-Number: Volume 5, Number 49