Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!emory!wa4mei!bcs800!jeffs From: jeffs@bcs800.UUCP (Jeff Smith) Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions Subject: who options? Keywords: unix command options Message-ID: <1078@bcs800.UUCP> Date: 16 Oct 90 21:53:18 GMT Organization: Brock Control Systems, Atlanta, Georgia Lines: 30 this has been bugging me for some time and finally thought about posting to the group for once instead of wondering every time it happens... the question is, why, in certain implementations of unix does the 'who' command not support any options? It seems to be only on non-unix's like xenix and bsd type systems, but i can't figure out why either every one leaves these out or just plain ignores them. Good quality options like -b, or -u or even -d. It would lead one to believe that for some reason it just wasn't included, but the same error msg gets returned every time so it's almost like a problem no one can avoid. It goes like this: $ who who: cannot open utmp. But utmp is always open, and always in /etc. does 'who' just not find it, or can it not read it. I know it get updated when someone logs in or out. Why then can the same system that wrote it not read it? All the way from my Altos 486 (yes the old one that looks like a 586 only shorter) to the NeXT that was just brought in the other day...hmmmmm...does anyone know why? jeffs -- Jeff Smith | #include Brock Control Systems | uucp: ...!gatech!emory!bcs800!jeffs Technical Support | bitnet: hadadax@gsuvm1.bitnet | jiffy: length of time it takes me to solve tel: +800 444 3070 | your problem by killing your process.