RE: Login with user name in CAPS
On 23-Aug-00 Viktor Rosenfeld wrote:
> I just logged in with my user name accidentelly in CAPS and the system
> let me log in. More suprisingly, everything that is printed on the
> terminal is in CAPS, too, including everything I type in lower case.
>
> Is this a bug or a feature? Or is it a feature that used to be a bug?
Well, it's a feature, and it was never a bug (though these days you
might plead that it's a bug which used to be a feature).
The point goes back to the very early days of UNIX, when the user
was quite likely to be logging in from a very primitive teletype
that could only do capitals (5- or 6-bit serial line).
UNIX was set up to recognise login with capital letters and use
capitals for the rest of the session, precisely to handle this.
That's the explanation. I suppose even now there may be some rare
cases where it is still useful.
And I suppose that one could envisage an option for the "login"
entry in /etc/inittab which could suppress the behaviour. But it's
hardly worth it: if it happens, just press ^D and log in again.
Ted.
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Date: 24-Aug-00 Time: 20:54:43
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