ecn-ec:ecn-pc:ecn-ed:9743@pur-ee.UUCP (09/03/83)
>From Pucc-I.sj4 Wed Aug 31 14:48:01 1983
To: pur-ee.9743
This summer I found a fairly interesting bug in UNIX. It is simple, easy
to understand and very cute to tell a novice. What the system does is tell you
you have been using 35000% of the cpu if you do the right things at the right
time.
To wit:
The command login resets the connect time for the terminal session. It does
nothing to the cpu time used. The net effect is that the time command tries
to divide a big number by close to zero and give outrageous numbers. (I have
a listing at home that tells that I used 4.5 MILLION percent of the cpu!!!!!)
This is certainly interesting and if this effect can be used effectively for
our military on a network of CRAY-2's, we'll be able to simulate the Soviet
Union and detect when Andropov even thinks. (I was going to say more but this
sounds better)
William (Zed) W. Smith
(purdue!pucc-i.sj4)
Postscript:
1. notice the date in the header. The actual message was initially written
a few days before that.
2. I can't get anything out from pucci so try and get to me at
pur-ee!9743 (The system admin's have decided to stop being cs or ee' and
are more interested in being managers so it will be a while before I have
a real id.
)(oops. no missing parens here)
3. I would be interested in running a survey of working conditions and job
satisfaction for systems admin's and programmers (see 2) As seems to be
the standard practice I will summarize any ideas when the mail slows down.