getdate_rfc868 1.2
------------------

The only change only change between 1.1 and 1.2 is I've changed the
name of the package from getdate to getdate_rfc868 because there
is at least one other utility called getdate at sunsite.

Getdate retrieves the current time from a remote host with a RFC 868
compliant time server.  Almost any of your favorite Internet hosts
(for FTP etc) will provide such a service.  Getdate can safely adjust
your time while you system is in use by using the adjtime() call.
It should work on many UNIX hosts with little or no modification.

When used to query the time, getdate reports the time on each host
to the stdout, along with the difference from local time in seconds.

When used to set the time, getdate tries a list of hosts until one
query succeeds or until the list is exhausted.  Getdate can use
adjtime() to change the time safely, or stime() to change it
immediately.

Getdate will work correctly across timezones.

Loosely based on rdate by Andy Tefft (teffta@crypt.erie.ge.com) which
was based on rdate by Lee Moore at University of Rochester.

Getdate was originally going to be called netdate, but netdate already
exists.  Unfortunately I didn't discover netdate until I'd finished
getdate.  In many ways the existing netdate is more sophisticated.
But getdate has the advantage of using adjtime() to slowly adjust the
time, making it safer for systems that are fully up.  This makes it
usefull for people who dial up using ppp.  If I had spotted netdate
sooner, I would have probably just have extended it.

INSTALLATION

To install the pre-built binary, as root, issue "make install" and
"make installman".

To build you own binary, look at the Makefile and change any of the
options and locations to suit your purposes.  Then "make", and then,
as root, "make install", "make installman", should be all you need to
do.  You can build an rpm with "make rpm".


Michael Hamilton
michael@actrix.gen.nz
October 1995
