bug#64937: "who" reports funny dates

[Thorsten Kukuk]

On Sun, Aug 06, Paul Eggert wrote:

> On 2023-08-03 23:53, Thorsten Kukuk wrote:
> > And yes, "who /var/log/wtmp" will not work with this, too. But is this
> > really a required or usefull use case?
> > /usr/bin/last can give you the same output.
> 
> Sure, but some people use "who" for that.[1][2][3] This is partly 
> because "who" predates "last".

Somebody wrote some weeks ago: only because there was a Unix system 
40 years ago nobody remembers anymore today with this limitations, there is
no reason for Linux to stick with this limitations.

SysV Init is gone and the majority does not miss it, and I don't see a 
reason why "who /var/log/wtmp" needs to stay.

> How does "last" emulate /var/log/wtmp using systemd?

No, systemd handles current sessions, no historic data.

> Also, what about /var/log/btmp? That is, what is the systemd substitute 
> for "who /var/log/btmp" or "last -f /var/log/btmp"?

Is there somebody really using btmp? Beside that it is really unreliable
since nearly no application is writing it, I asked on several mailing
lists and nobody answered.

  Thorsten

> [1]: https://linuxhandbook.com/who-command/
> [2]: https://linuxtldr.com/who-command/
> [3]: https://kamotora.net/system/linux/check-btmp-wtmp-utmp/

-- 
Thorsten Kukuk, Distinguished Engineer, Senior Architect, Future Technologies
SUSE Software Solutions Germany GmbH, Frankenstraße 146, 90461 Nuernberg, 
Germany
Managing Director: Ivo Totev, Andrew McDonald, Werner Knoblich
(HRB 36809, AG Nürnberg)