greg@tcnz2.tcnz.co.nz (07/21/89)
In NCR Tower Unix, release 20100, if I create a crontab format file as root then do crontab filename it wipes what is currently in the crontab for root and replaces it with the new entries. It does not append it, as the manual implies. We didn't have cron.allow or cron.deny set up, so root was the only one able to use cron (all the users are naive users). This means I must manually reload the thing myself Greg Disclaimer - Thomas Cooks Iron, My Opinions Greg Calkin Thomas Cook N.Z. Limited, ...!uunet!vuwcomp!dsiramd!marcamd!tcnz2!greg PO Box 24, Auckland CPO, or greg@tcnz.co.nz New Zealand. Phone (09)-793920
aem@ibiza.cs.miami.edu (a.e.mossberg) (07/22/89)
greg@tcnz2.tcnz.co.nz writes: >In NCR Tower Unix, release 20100, if I create a crontab format file as >root then do >crontab filename >it wipes what is currently in the crontab for root and replaces it with >the new entries. It does not append it, as the manual implies. We didn't >have cron.allow or cron.deny set up, so root was the only one able >to use cron (all the users are naive users). >This means I must manually reload the thing myself That's exactly how System V crontab works and is supposed to work, as far as I can tell. It works that way on our ATT 3B2s, and our Apple Mac A/UX systems. When I don't feel like vi-ing the appropriate file, I do crontab >tempfile, vi tempfile, crontab tempfile aem a.e.mossberg - aem@mthvax.cs.miami.edu/aem@umiami.BITNET - Pahayokee Bioregion The life of money-making is one undertaken under compulsion, and wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking, for it is merely useful for the sake of something else. - Aristotle
tneff@bfmny0.UUCP (Tom Neff) (07/22/89)
To append entries to crontab, try crontab -l | cat - /tmp/mynewentries | crontab Or, as I prefer, from vi, you just type :%!crontab -l then edit the entries as you see fit, and finish with :%!crontab -- "My God, Thiokol, when do you \\ Tom Neff want me to launch -- next April?" \\ uunet!bfmny0!tneff
guy@auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris) (07/23/89)
>In NCR Tower Unix, release 20100, if I create a crontab format file as >root then do >crontab filename >it wipes what is currently in the crontab for root and replaces it with >the new entries. It does not append it, as the manual implies. Unless somebody at NCR decided to modify "crontab" but didn't get it right, it's the manual that's incorrect; in vanilla S5 from AT&T, "crontab" is intended to replace, not append to, the existing "crontab" file, and that's what it does. (If you want to append, then as long as you don't have multiple writers, you can obviously arrange to do that by using "crontab -l" to copy the file, appending to the copy, and using "crontab" to write it out.) (If somebody at NCR *did* decide to do that, they should have thought twice about making "crontab" incompatible - if it appends, is the only way then to delete a "crontab" entry to nuke my entire "crontab" file with "crontab -r" and then to stuff the new file in? I suspect, though, that it's purely a documentation screwup.)
haug@toto.UUCP (Brian R Haug) (07/23/89)
I recently examined the crontab man page on a NCR Tower 32/600 Release 2.01 (the exact same system as Greg Calkin used) and I read the man page to mean that the entries would be replaced, I do not see how he got the impression he did. NCR's man page states: Crontab copies the specified file, or standard input if no file is specified, into a directory that holds all user crontab files. A user crontab file specifies ..... If Greg still feels this is misleading he should contact his NCR representative and discuss the problem. Perhaps the man page should be clarified. Disclaimer: I work for NCR, but not on this product. These opinions in NO WAY necesarily reflect those of NCR.
tmoore@ciss.Dayton.NCR.COM (Tom.Moore@ciss.Dayton.NCR.COM) (07/24/89)
greg@tcnz2.tcnz.co.nz writes: >In NCR Tower Unix, release 20100, if I create a crontab format file as >root then do >crontab filename >it wipes what is currently in the crontab for root and replaces it with >the new entries. It does not append it, as the manual implies. We didn't >have cron.allow or cron.deny set up, so root was the only one able >to use cron (all the users are naive users). To quote the TOWER User Reference Manual crontab(1) entry: "Crontab copies the specified file, or standard input if no file is specified, into a directory that holds all user crontab files." I don't believe copy implies append. If it is any consolation, you are not the first person to make this mistake. :-) -- * Tom Moore NCR Corporation PCD-6 (513) 445-1373 * * Consulting Analyst 1700 S. Patterson Blvd. VOICEplus 622-1373 * * Network Applications Dayton, OH 45479 Tom.Moore@Dayton.NCR.COM *
wescott@ncrcae.Columbia.NCR.COM (Mike Wescott) (07/24/89)
In article <2271@auspex.auspex.com> guy@auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris) writes: > In article <139@tcnz2.tcnz.co.nz> greg@tcnz.co.nz writes: > >In NCR Tower Unix, release 20100, if I create a crontab format file as > >root then do > >crontab filename > >it wipes what is currently in the crontab for root and replaces it with > >the new entries. It does not append it, as the manual implies. > > Unless somebody at NCR decided to modify "crontab" but didn't get it > right, Nope. No modifications. Except expanding the usage message to include the -l option. > it's the manual that's incorrect; [...] > I suspect, though, that it's purely a documentation screwup. Nope. The man page for crontab, while not a verbatim copy of the V.2.1 man page uses the same language: Crontab copies the specified file, or standard input if no file is specified, into a directory that holds all user crontab files. This isn't the clearest and most complete description of crontab's behavior but I don't see the "append" implication either. -- -Mike Wescott mike.wescott@ncrcae.Columbia.NCR.COM
prc@erbe.se (Robert Claeson) (07/24/89)
In article <139@tcnz2.tcnz.co.nz> greg@tcnz.co.nz writes: >In NCR Tower Unix, release 20100, if I create a crontab format file as >root then do >crontab filename >it wipes what is currently in the crontab for root and replaces it with >the new entries. It does not append it, as the manual implies. We didn't >have cron.allow or cron.deny set up, so root was the only one able >to use cron (all the users are naive users). The 'crontab' command works in exactly the same way on our Encore Multimax, running UMAX V 2.2f. However, the manual says that the contents of <filename> or stdin is *copied* to the crontab directory, thus overwriting what's currently in the crontab file. It doesn't say a word about appending. From what I've seen, Encore's manual says exactly the same thing all other System V-like crontab manuals I've seen, so if the NCR manual differ, I guess that NCR is in error. BTW, Encore's manual on crontab also says, in the BUGS section, that if one enter "crontab" and then changes ones mind, one should NOT terminate the command with ctrl D, but with the interrupt key. Otherwise, the current crontab will be replaced with an empty one. This phrase is not in all manuals, even though the command do work in this way. -- Robert Claeson E-mail: rclaeson@erbe.se ERBE DATA AB