[chrony-dev] new feature request: add "fast" and "slow" to "clock wrong" and "clock stepped" log messages

[James Feeney <james@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On start-up, in the log file, there are these informational messages, for instance:

chronyd[622]: System clock wrong by 1.693005 seconds, adjustment started
chronyd[622]: System clock was stepped by 1.693005 seconds

Without some foreknowledge, it is unclear if the quantity "1.693005 seconds" is referring to the system clock with respect to the NTP server clock, or is referring to the NTP server clock with respect to the system clock, and so, the idea of "plus" and "minus" is ambiguous in this context.

How about, rather than using the term "wrong", instead use the terms "fast" and "slow" to describe this quantity "1.693005 seconds"?  Then the log message might read:

chronyd[622]: System clock fast by 1.693005 seconds, adjustment started

or

chronyd[622]: System clock slow by 1.693005 seconds, adjustment started

Similarly, the "clock was stepped" message could include "+" and "-", or better, "forward" and "back", to clarify the "direction" of the error.  Consider:

chronyd[622]: System clock was stepped back by 1.693005 seconds

or

chronyd[622]: System clock was stepped forward by 1.693005 seconds


As it is now, I literally do not know whether my system clock runs fast or slow, or whether the system clock was stepped forward in time, or back in time.

I'm sure that the meaning of "wrong" and "stepped" is obvious to some of you, simply because you already know how the code is written.  But the log message could make this clear to the uninitiated user.  Ha!



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