Re: clockspeed and date

Shantanu wrote:

> Here I also have a few questions,
> 1. Does kernel time = CMOS time = Hardware clock
> = system time?

CMOS time and hardware clock both refer to a piece of hardware, which is 
present on every PC mainboard. This is the clock which provides your OS with 
time when it is booting up. It is usually, but not necesserily,  set to UTC. 
System time is on the other hand maintained and provided by kernel (in all 
sorts of Unices I believe). See http://cr.yp.to/proto/utctai.html

> 2. When I type $ date shouldn't I get my time in
> localtime?

Yes, you get a representation of your local time computed from the kernel time 
  with respect to the content of the /etc/localtime or TZ.

> 3. Then why I need clockspeed?

You needn't. But you can take advantages of if you decide so. Clockspeed is a 
tool to inteligently compensate for drifts of the kernel clock (not the 
hardware clock).

>>If you run the following commands, you should
>>get identical values:
>>date ; TZ=right/Asia/Calcutta date
> 
> 
> What is right?
> 
>>TZ=right/UTC date ; date

Under "right" subdirectory there are zone-files for different timezones for 
use on systems with TAI system time.


> Shoudl TZ be set to Calcutta or UTC?

You normally needn't set TZ. You can set it to override your system-wide 
setting (/etc/localtime) to see, ie what time it is somewhere else.

Regards
Jan