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Re: NSS and db


>   getpwent() function returns a pointer to a structure containing the
>   broken-out fields of an entry in the user database.  Each entry in
>   the user database contains a passwd structure.  When
>   first called, getpwent() returns a pointer to a passwd structure
>   containing the first entry in the user database.  Thereafter, it
>   returns a pointer to a passwd structure containing the next entry in
>   the user database.  Successive calls can be used to search the entire
>   user database.
> 
> Please note the words "first" and "next".  I don't think we can return 
> them in random order.

I would not interpret this to require a fixed order. Yes, for every
caller, there will be a "first" entry (the one returned from the first
call), and every subsequent call returns a different entry (one that
was not returned before).

Suppose you were to phrase this feature (first call initializes,
subsequent calls iterate) in a specification. Wording it as "returns
the database in order" is the most natural way, even though it
apparently leaves room to mis-interpretation: it could be taken as
requiring the same order for every caller. 

Regards,
Martin

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