Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!bfmny0!tneff
From: tneff@bfmny0.BFM.COM (Tom Neff)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.perl
Subject: Re: sort
Message-ID: <15819@bfmny0.BFM.COM>
Date: 4 Sep 90 10:34:28 GMT
References: <9337@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV> <Fra5m=?1@cs.psu.edu> <9384@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV>
Reply-To: tneff@bfmny0.BFM.COM (Tom Neff)
Lines: 19

In article <9384@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV> lwall@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV (Larry Wall) writes:
>Other items sneaking in at the last moment.  Filetests -M, -A and -C will
>return the file's age in days (possibly fractional) at the time the script
>started.  This will make it much easier to write middle-of-the-night
>skulkers.

Why when the script started?  Why not their age NOW?  That way you could
not only write middle-of-the-night skulkers, but usable Perl daemons to
check for things at intervals.

If the objection is to repeated time() calls, I suggest the tradeoff is
well worth it.

If the objection is nonetheless sustained, how about making the "$NOW"
variable used by -[MAC] modifiable by the programmer.

-- 
"Just the fax, ma'am."    o..oo    Tom Neff
    -- John McClane       .oo..    tneff@bfmny0.BFM.COM