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From: std-unix@ut-sally.UUCP (Moderator, John Quarterman)
Newsgroups: mod.std.unix
Subject: mod.std.unix
Message-ID: <4186@ut-sally.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 13-Feb-86 11:59:03 EST
Article-I.D.: ut-sally.4186
Posted: Thu Feb 13 11:59:03 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 14-Feb-86 03:39:42 EST
Organization: IEEE/P1003 Portable Operating System Environment Committee
Lines: 30
Approved: jsq@sally.UUCP

>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