Messages in this thread | | | From | "Alan Curry" <> | Subject | Re: numerical username | Date | Tue, 7 Sep 1999 03:07:23 -0500 (EST) |
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Miquel van Smoorenburg writes the following: >The kernel doesn't know about usernames, only about user ids. This is >a userspace (glibc) issue. I think libc5 did indeed limit you to >8 characters, but who uses libc5 nowadays ;)
Do you have patches for ls, repquota, ps, who, finger, and every other utility that has an output format designed around 8 character usernames? And if so, will I have to upgrade to 132-column ttys to run them?
You have taken a giant leap from "The kernel and libc can handle long usernames" to "long usernames work just fine". They don't. Too many utilites are broken by them. It's a userspace issue, all right, but "userspace" doesn't just mean the libc.
The kernel and libc wouldn't mind usernames with spaces and control characters in them either. I dare you to use them :)
>So if you use glibc, you can have long usernames. If they may or >may not start with a number depends more on the tools on the rest >of your system.
Starting with a digit isn't so bad, but if there isn't at least one non-digit in a username, then "chown 1234 foo" becomes frighteningly ambiguous.
I admin a system which has both kinds of broken usernames - too long and all-digits - and it causes me no end of trouble. Stick to the guidelines and you'll be happier.
Long Usernames Considered Harmful
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