reason why a few sources should come with binary licenses

[Seth H Zirin]

> The argument thus far is that binary licenses to UNIX should always
> come with a few sources because of various security and administrative
> policies that a site might need to institute that shouldn't require
> a full source license, among those mentioned were login.c. So far the
> list has been:
> 
> 	1. The ULIMIT problem, modifying login.c is currently the
> 	only effective way to raise ulimit above 2048 on SYSV.
> 
> 	2. Enforcing times when certain users can or cannot login,
> 	or other variables (eg. load, free dialups available etc.)
> 	This *could* be done via /etc/profile but I think most would
> 	agree it belongs in login.
> 
> 	3. Schemes like if they type in N bad passwds hang the phone up,
> 	maybe warn someone (the user or SA.)

The things you mention could easily be implemented with a login program
written locally at your site.  There is no cast-in-stone rule that says
you cannot replace ANY Unix command with your own (that includes Init).
When /etc/getty calls login, there's no reason it can't be the one you
wrote.

This solution works for many of the simple cases (login, getty, passwd,
etc) but would not be very useful for a large program like uucp.
-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name:	Seth H Zirin
UUCP:	{decvax, ihnp4}!philabs!sbcs!megad!seth

Keeper of the News for megad