currentTime() on ultra-lame systems

[Rob Mayoff]

+-- On Mon, 9 Mar 1998, Aaron Harsh wrote:
| - Why is nullInputStream even checking this?

Note: I looked at the source code for java.lang.System to answer this.
The JDK binary distribution includes the source for java.lang.System,
and the license for the JDK binary distribution allows its use "for
development of Java(tm) compatible applets and applications".

I don't understand why, but nullInputStream (the function that
first initializes System.in) explicitly creates and throws
NullPointerException if currentTimeMillis returns zero. Otherwise, it
returns null. Another initialization function later sets System.in to
something useful. (Similar steps for System.out and System.err.)

| - Should currentTime return (time(0) * 1000) rather than 0 on 
| ultra-lame systems?

I think that would be far more useful.

| [1] I should say that in COFF compatibility mode there's no way to 
| get millisecond timing.  If I didn't want to link with third-party 
| COFF libraries our Sequent would instantly lose it's ultra-lame 
| status.

You can't call gettimeofday?