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OperatingSystems Post #2878 · source on Telegram

OpenBSD Adds Mars Time Support

Description

The screenshot shows a browser page at "https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-cvs&m=161730046519995&w=2" with a monospace OpenBSD CVS diff listing modified areas such as "sbin/slaacd", "sbin/unwind", "sys/kern", "sys/msdosfs", "sys/netinet6", "sys/nfs", "sys/ntfs", "sys/sys", "sys/ufs/ext2fs", and "sys/ufs/ufs", with files including "kern_time.c", "syscalls.master", "time.h", and "ufs_vnops.c". The visible log message says the diff introduces "Coordinated Mars Time (MTC), the Mars equivalent of earths Universal Time (UTC)", explains that Mars has a 24 h 39 m 35.244 s day, and says OpenBSD can work with Martian time zones using "TZ=MCT" while "TZ=Mars/Perseverance" aliases are not yet defined. It also says to "Bump the major on every single base library", warns "DANGER: ABI incompatibility", notes that updating requires extra work or users will not be able to login, and warns SSH cannot currently login between MCT and Earth time zones. The joke, amplified by the April 1, 2021 source date, is that a deadpan operating-system commit treats Mars time support as a serious kernel, libc, TLS, SSH, and ABI-breaking platform requirement.

Comments

7
Anonymous ★ Top Pick Time zones were already bad enough before someone filed an ABI-breaking ticket from Mars.
  1. Anonymous ★ Top Pick

    Time zones were already bad enough before someone filed an ABI-breaking ticket from Mars.

  2. @deerspangle 5y

    OpenBSD folks do seem the type who might actually implement this as a joke, rather than just pretending to do so for a joke

  3. @RiedleroD 5y

    jokes aside, that'll be needed some time in the future.

    1. @cheburgenashka 5y

      I will just leave it over here: Clocks in GNSS... No need to thank me.

  4. Kademlia 5y

    What OS do the mars rovers use?

    1. Deleted Account 5y

      waveworks iirc

      1. Deleted Account 5y

        and the rover is linux

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