Changing the Time Format in Solaris 10?

as400 · 05-14-2008, 01:45 AM

Hi,

This is a stupid question, but I have been working with OpenVMS systems in the past, and VMS logs times in this format below:
HH:MM:SS:00

In UNIX, how can I add the time format were the time shows in CENTISECONDS like the one in above? For example, I want all applications including the time in which users logged on in the format as below:

12:00:59.75

I have a gut feeling that this is impossible to do in UNIX, but I hiope somebody has some ideas.

Thx.

eggixyz · 05-14-2008, 08:29 PM

Hey there,

I'm not sitting in front of a Sol 10 server right now, but I think you're correct in your assumption. You can set the date as root using the "date" command.

Check the manpage for the date command to see how specific you can get, but I believe it's only down to the second. I could be wrong, though. Hopefully, so

Best wishes,

Mike

as400 · 05-15-2008, 12:00 AM

Hi, thanks. Im not on my laptop now which has Solaris running, but I will check it out later.
I know how to work with the basic date commands.

So, if I wanted to add the CENTISECONDS format, its done like this???

For example: 12:45:00.00

# 12450000

Just for trying it out, what value should I try out?

eggixyz · 05-15-2008, 12:19 AM

Bummer,

I had to do some work tonight and logged into one of our sol 10 boxes and it looks like date is only accurate (or displayable) to the second. I ran date with -x just to get the usage output.

Quote:

root # uname -rv
5.10 Generic_127111-09
root # date -x
date: illegal option -- x
usage: date [-u] mmddHHMM[[cc]yy][.SS]
date [-u] [+format]
date -a [-]sss[.fff]

I've always thought this was strange, since "time" does display microseconds when you measure actions.

Sorry I can't help you out with that

Maybe there's a custom package out there for this ???

Best wishes,

Mike

eggixyz · 05-15-2008, 12:20 AM

Sorry - I didn't reply to your question

The safest thing to do if you want to permanently change just the time is do this as root:

time 160403

for 4:04pm and 3 seconds.

, Mike

as400 · 05-15-2008, 12:32 AM

Thanks alot for your efforts.

It looks like only VMS boxes do that.

Even the large scale Mainframes stamps time only to the second also....

jlliagre · 05-15-2008, 07:24 PM

Here is a C program that will give you microsecond resolution timestamp:

Code:

#include <sys/time.h>
main()
{
  char ct[28];
  struct timeval tv;
  gettimeofday(&tv, NULL);
  sprintf(ct, "%s", ctime(&tv.tv_sec));
  printf("%19.19s.%06ld %4.4s\n",ct ,tv.tv_usec, &ct[20]);
  exit(0);
}

Code:

Fri May 16 02:24:34.362967 2008

eggixyz · 05-15-2008, 08:49 PM

Sweet,

Make that an alias for "date" (or make it a whole separate command) and you've got yourself a winner. I tested it out and it looks great.

Quote:

$ ./c
Thu May 15 20:47:37.608412 2008

Thanks for the hook-up jlliagre

, Mike

as400 · 05-23-2008, 12:06 AM

Hi,

Now, where can I put this source code??? Into which directory? Or, is this a command?

Thx.

jlliagre · 05-23-2008, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by as400

Into which directory?

Your home directory or a subdir there.

Quote:

Or, is this a command?

Once compiled, yes:

Code:

/usr/sfw/bin/gcc datems.c -o datems

as400 · 05-23-2008, 01:44 AM

YOur going to have to explain on how to do this.

Do I have to copy and paste that code into a Text Editor and save it to my home directory and then after that I can run that command?

jlliagre · 05-23-2008, 02:01 AM

That's it. Save the new file as "datems.c" which would mean date milli/micro seconds.

To run the command, use "./datems" or copy it to /usr/bin and simply run "datems".

Note that this command isn't going to change the way system timestamps are displayed. It just demonstrates that Solaris/Unix/Linux can provide sub-second timestamps like or better than VMS.

I have no doubt mainframes can do it too.

as400 · 05-23-2008, 02:54 AM

So, after this, will my clock on the CDE Desktop update the time in milliseconds or only when I do the date command?

And do I have to copy and paste the source that you posted into GEDIT and the save it as "datems.c" and then put I have to put this into the /HOME directory?
Thanks alot.

jlliagre · 05-23-2008, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by as400

So, after this, will my clock on the CDE Desktop update the time in milliseconds

Your clock isn't updating the time, it just displays it.

Quote:

or only when I do the date command?

Same as the above. the date and clock only display the time with one second precision.

Quote:

And do I have to copy and paste the source that you posted into GEDIT and the save it as "datems.c" and then put I have to put this into the /HOME directory?

Yes, in your $HOME directory precisely, then run the gcc command I wrote in a terminal emulator window.

unixmail · 11-13-2008, 11:11 AM

When I run it, I am getting below errors:

./micro.c
./micro.c: line 6: syntax error near unexpected token `&'
./micro.c: line 6: ` gettimeofday(&tv, NULL);'
This is what the program looks like - I have named it as micro.c:
#include <sys/time.h>
main()
{
char ct[28];
struct timeval tv;
gettimeofday(&tv, NULL);
sprintf(ct, "%s", ctime(&tv.tv_sec));
printf("%19.19s.%06ld %4.4s\n",ct ,tv.tv_usec, &ct[20]);
exit(0);
}