On Fri, 26 Apr 2024 at 12:30, Chris Hofstaedtler <z...@debian.org> wrote: > > Fellow Developers, > > you are probably aware of the time_t-64bit migration :-) > However, this does not magically transition all data formats to 64bit > times. One such instance is the set of utmp/wtmp and lastlog files. > > Thorsten Kukuk and others have been working on replacements for the > existing file formats and interfaces [1]; these are called wtmpdb > and lastlog2. > > Some parties have requested that we do something in Debian [2]. If > we use Thorsten's work (and why not?), this likely means introducing > new packages into the Priority: standard set, and changes to a few > other packages, esp. those that handle user sessions. > > Thorsten's code introduces new PAM modules to manage the new files, > so it should transparently work with most packages. Later, the > old interfaces can probably be turned off. This seems like a good > idea as a migration strategy to me. > A bonus seems to be that installs not wanting these features can > remove them - whereas today they are baked into everything. > > > On the wiki [0] I have summarized what I know; a list of initial > work items; and some open questions mostly concerned with upgrading. > > I invite you to read the wiki page and the background info, to > identify gaps, to provide insights on feasability and further > related comments. > I'm hoping that we can build consensus on this plan. > > Please keep #1068017 in CC: when discussing substantial matters > about this plan but drop it for only vaguely related sub-threads. > > Chris > > > [0] https://wiki.debian.org/pam_lastlog2%20and%20wtmpdb > [1] https://www.thkukuk.de/blog/Y2038_glibc_lastlog_64bit/ > [2] https://bugs.debian.org/1068017
Would be nice to drop things that are not used, but otherwise, option A looks good and broadly similar to what other distros are doing, so should be pretty safe. Thanks for taking care of this.