Re: nist time package

[Gopal Narayanan <gopal@fcrao1.phast.umass.edu>]

On 27 Oct, Daniel Martin wrote:
> Gopal Narayanan <gopal@fcrao1.phast.umass.edu> writes:
> 
>>> In the old slackware days, I used to use a package which is still
>> available on sunsite. This package called nist (appropriately) is for
>> machines that are connected to the internet. It is a rather small, but
>> handy package that could be used to set your time by using telnet on
>> port 13 to the nist site. Any reasons not to use nist? If there is
>> interest in a small and handy package like nist, I'd be willing to
>> package it.
> 
> Well, it seems a bit like overkill.  There's already netdate in the
> netstd package, which sets the time by a telnet/udp query to port
> 37. (which is much easier to parse than the results of port 13)  Much
> lighter-weight than the ntp protocol, and at least as accurate as the
> idea of telnetting to port 13.
> 
> Perhaps a simple addition to the netstd documentation saying what
> machine at nist to query might be in order, (or perhaps a two line
> shell script in the /usr/doc/netstd directory) but really I don't see
> the need to create a whole new package.

Thanks, I did not know about netdate. I tested it out, and seems to do
the job quite well.  The nist site to query is time_a.timefreq.bldrdoc.gov
I am cc'ing this message to the netstd maintainer as well. I second your
idea of having a few words of documentation in the netstd package about
the nist site. I retract my earlier interest in the nist package.

Gopal.
-- 
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Gopal Narayanan                          Ph #: (413) 545 0925
Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory Fax#: (413) 545 4223
University of Massachusetts              e-mail: gopal@fcrao1.phast.umass.edu
Amherst MA 01003
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