GNU bug report logs -
#36220
ls -l: maddening mixed left right justifications with numeric ids
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Reported by: Dan Jacobson <jidanni <at> jidanni.org>
Date: Sat, 15 Jun 2019 03:30:02 UTC
Severity: normal
Done: Paul Eggert <eggert <at> cs.ucla.edu>
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(Sat, 15 Jun 2019 03:30:02 GMT)
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(Sat, 15 Jun 2019 03:30:02 GMT)
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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):
Some files might only have numeric user ids,
# ls -l
-rw-r--r-- 1 777 root 0 06-15 10:14 a
-rw-r--r-- 1 root 777777 0 06-15 10:11 b
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 06-15 10:12 c
-rw-r--r-- 1 root 777 0 06-15 10:12 d
Well it turns out an undocumented feature is that numeric ids are
justified in the opposite direction of regular ids.
Makes sense, however it wreaks havoc in the above mixed situations.
The only way to get columns to line up in such mixed situations is
# ls -ln
-rw-r--r-- 1 777 0 0 06-15 10:14 a
-rw-r--r-- 1 0 777777 0 06-15 10:11 b
-rw-r--r-- 1 0 0 0 06-15 10:12 c
-rw-r--r-- 1 0 777 0 06-15 10:12 d
but that sacrifices the names.
Well at least on (info "(coreutils) What information is listed") at
‘-n’
‘--numeric-uid-gid’
Produce long format directory listings, but display numeric user
and group IDs instead of the owner and group names.
document that "Note that numeric ids are always right justified."
ls (GNU coreutils) 8.30
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(Mon, 17 Jun 2019 14:07:01 GMT)
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Message #8 received at 36220 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):
On 15/06/19 03:35, Dan Jacobson wrote:
> Some files might only have numeric user ids,
>
> # ls -l
> -rw-r--r-- 1 777 root 0 06-15 10:14 a
> -rw-r--r-- 1 root 777777 0 06-15 10:11 b
> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 06-15 10:12 c
> -rw-r--r-- 1 root 777 0 06-15 10:12 d
I guess the numeric IDs are usually the minority in the mixed case,
so it would be best to align left in that case?
Are mixed names/IDs a common case for you?
I.E. is it worth worrying about this?
It's easy enough to fix, but it would be nice
to know if it was a common issue, as I've not encountered it at least.
cheers,
Pádraig
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(Mon, 17 Jun 2019 15:13:01 GMT)
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Message #11 received at 36220 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):
[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]
On 17/06/19 15:06, Pádraig Brady wrote:
> On 15/06/19 03:35, Dan Jacobson wrote:
>> Some files might only have numeric user ids,
>>
>> # ls -l
>> -rw-r--r-- 1 777 root 0 06-15 10:14 a
>> -rw-r--r-- 1 root 777777 0 06-15 10:11 b
>> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 06-15 10:12 c
>> -rw-r--r-- 1 root 777 0 06-15 10:12 d
>
> I guess the numeric IDs are usually the minority in the mixed case,
> so it would be best to align left in that case?
> Are mixed names/IDs a common case for you?
> I.E. is it worth worrying about this?
> It's easy enough to fix, but it would be nice
> to know if it was a common issue, as I've not encountered it at least.
Patch attached to do as described above
[ls-align-id.diff (text/x-patch, attachment)]
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Message #14 received at 36220 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):
On 6/17/19 8:12 AM, Pádraig Brady wrote:
> Patch attached to do as described above
I prefer the current ("maddening") behavior, as it gives the reader a
useful signal that the user is numeric rather than textual. This is
particularly important when a user name consists entirely of digits,
which is allowed on some systems. In that case, left alignment of a
string like "7777" means it's a textual user name, whereas right
alignment means it's a numeric user ID. Admittedly the disambiguation is
not perfect (as there is no cue when the user name has the maximum
width) but it's helpful in common practice.
I thought this was all documented somewhere - at least, it was a
conscious decision when I wrote that code long ago.
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(Tue, 18 Jun 2019 02:36:02 GMT)
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Message #17 received at 36220 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):
>>>>> "PB" == Pádraig Brady <P <at> draigBrady.com> writes:
PB> to know if it was a common issue, as I've not encountered it at least.
Well as the anbox Android emulator could possibly become very popular,
ls should be ready for a big influx of numeric ids.
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(Tue, 18 Jun 2019 02:40:02 GMT)
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Message #20 received at 36220 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):
>>>>> "PE" == Paul Eggert <eggert <at> cs.ucla.edu> writes:
PE> On 6/17/19 8:12 AM, Pádraig Brady wrote:
PE> I prefer the current ("maddening") behavior, as it gives the reader a
PE> useful signal that the user is numeric rather than textual. This is
PE> particularly important when a user name consists entirely of digits,
PE> which is allowed on some systems. In that case, left alignment of a
PE> string like "7777" means it's a textual user name, whereas right
PE> alignment means it's a numeric user ID. Admittedly the disambiguation
PE> is not perfect (as there is no cue when the user name has the maximum
PE> width) but it's helpful in common practice.
PE> I thought this was all documented somewhere - at least, it was a
PE> conscious decision when I wrote that code long ago.
Indeed all you need to do would me mention the logic there on INFO "ls"
and we would realize that this was actually a feature.
Reply sent
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Paul Eggert <eggert <at> cs.ucla.edu>
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You have taken responsibility.
(Tue, 18 Jun 2019 07:34:03 GMT)
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Dan Jacobson <jidanni <at> jidanni.org>
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bug acknowledged by developer.
(Tue, 18 Jun 2019 07:34:03 GMT)
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Message #25 received at 36220-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):
[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]
積丹尼 Dan Jacobson wrote:
> Indeed all you need to do would me mention the logic there on INFO "ls"
> and we would realize that this was actually a feature.
OK, I installed the attached and am marking this bug as done.
[0001-doc-mention-ls-l-user-group-justification.patch (text/x-patch, attachment)]
bug archived.
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(Tue, 16 Jul 2019 11:24:06 GMT)
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This bug report was last modified 4 years and 257 days ago.
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