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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!munnari.OZ.AU!news.hawaii.edu!news.uoregon.edu!news-res.gsl.net!news.gsl.net!news.mathworks.com!news.kei.com!nntp.coast.net!dispatch.news.demon.net!demon!awfulhak.demon.co.uk!awfulhak.demon.co.uk!awfulhak.demon.co.uk!not-for-mail From: brian@awfulhak.demon.co.uk (Brian Somers) Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: UserID size Date: 19 Jul 1996 12:03:02 +0100 Organization: Coverform Ltd. Lines: 31 Message-ID: <4snq16$a2@anorak.coverform.lan> References: <4rt4mr$ah3@barracuda.pelican.net> <4rv0c5$4ci@jraynard.demon.co.uk> <Pine.LNX.3.91.960718113614.10245B-100000@gallup.cia-g.com> <4smcpo$9rq@barracuda.pelican.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: localhost.coverform.lan X-NNTP-Posting-Host: awfulhak.demon.co.uk X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Stephen C. West-Fisher (steve@pelican.net) wrote: : Stephen Fisher <lithium@cia-g.com> wrote: : >Won't this cause more problems than it's worth? With unix utils and 3rd : >party programs? : >On 10 Jul 1996, James Raynard wrote: : >> Edit the line in /usr/src/include/utmp.h that says : >> : >> #define UT_NAMESIZE 8 : Actually, you also need to change something in sys/param.h. : We just remade all the libraries and that took care of our problem. We : just needed to su to long names. : I don't think it will break anything, look at the examples in the man : pages, they show long usernames. We haven't yet had any problems. There shouldn't be any problems if the programs that use it are "properly" written, except for the case where your communicating binary info about user names between machines that have a different max size. The only way to make this work is to introduce overhead in the communication protocol - but who needs that, UT_NAMESIZE is always the same.... isn't it :-/? NIS is a good example. -- Brian <brian@awfulhak.demon.co.uk> Don't _EVER_ lose your sense of humour....