TZ and TERM per process

[Moderator, John Quarterman]

[ I don't know if the following suggestion really solves the
problems, but I don't believe anybody has made it before.  -mod ]

From: seismo!philabs!nyit!rick at sally.UTEXAS.EDU (Rick Ace)
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 86 15:51:31 est

Objections to keeping TZ as a UNIX environment object can be
answered by putting the timezone information (to whatever
degree of precision is necessary) in the per-process context
maintained by UNIX, also called the `u.' area.  The kernel
can offer system calls to query or change the TZ of the
calling process.  Upon fork(), the child inherits its
parent's TZ.

The umask(2) syscall provides a precedent for carrying
special OS-related information in the per-process context
maintained by the kernel.  I'm tempted to propose that TERM
information should be kept there too.
-----
Rick Ace
Computer Graphics Laboratory
New York Institute of Technology
Old Westbury, NY  11568
(516) 686-7644

{decvax,seismo}!philabs!nyit!rick

Volume-Number: Volume 0, Number 0