On Dec 24, 2007, at 4:44 PM, David Dyer-Bennet wrote: > > Solaris has an /etc/cron.d directory, but the files in it aren't > crontab > files, and the man pages don't make any suggestion of anything except > user-specific cron files (no system cron file, either, that I can > find). So why the heck is the directory called /etc/cron.d? That's > just mean; deliberately misleading people! And misusing the naming > convention.
You're looking for /var/spool/cron for the per-user cron and at job storage. This location predates Linux and the existence of vixie cron. There isn't a concept as a system-wide crontab in particular, and I'd guess the closest approximation of that would be to put the job under root's account. There might be some history context you're missing though. Linux distros have historically packaged Vixie cron or a derivative of it. Solaris's cron is, well, Solaris's Cron. Two different origins, two different histories, and two different ways of doing things. I bet that since you're coming from a Linux background, you're coming to Solaris with a understanding that what's in Linux is what's been Universally True since the dawn of *NIX. However, this isn't as Linux distros as we know them today have been around for only ~15 years. SunOS goes back father than this. For those of us who have used SunOS/ Solaris since before Linux, we see the Linux as the perversion here... so who is right or wrong is a matter of perspective depending on who you ask. > And how much trouble is it to replace the archaic cron system with > something with decent features? I suppose that would mess up all the > package installations? Well, here we are in a Open Source world. Never assume never and participation is where the rubber meets the road in the purest sense of the definition. I'm sure you can find people other than yourself who have their own bone to pick with Solaris's cron facility. If you truly want to be here in a way that's more than being a Tourist, feel free to organize and front your ideas and ask others to join you in adding features to cron. Describe a design, find someone (or yourself) to provide code diffs and manage the review process for it. If you want to just be a Tourist here, that's perfectly fine too. Just keep the vitriol to an absolute minimum and remember that you brought yourself to try Solaris in the first place. That's all... /dale _______________________________________________ opensolaris-discuss mailing list opensolaris-discuss@opensolaris.org
