misc/40977: /var/backups/work/device.current is overly sensitive to ls(1) columnar alignment

[Taylor R Campbell <campbell%mumble.net@localhost>]

>Number:         40977
>Category:       misc
>Synopsis:       /var/backups/work/device.current is overly sensitive to ls(1) 
>columnar alignment
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       serious
>Priority:       medium
>Responsible:    misc-bug-people
>State:          open
>Class:          sw-bug
>Submitter-Id:   net
>Arrival-Date:   Sat Mar 07 04:25:00 +0000 2009
>Originator:     Taylor R Campbell <campbell%mumble.net@localhost>
>Release:        NetBSD 4.0.1
>Organization:
>Environment:
System: NetBSD joule.t.continuation.org 4.0.1 NetBSD 4.0.1 (GENERIC) #0: Tue 
Oct 7 22:58:48 PDT 2008 
builds@wb30:/home/builds/ab/netbsd-4-0-1-RELEASE/i386/200810080053Z-obj/home/builds/ab/netbsd-4-0-1-RELEASE/src/sys/arch/i386/compile/GENERIC
 i386
Architecture: i386
Machine: i386
>Description:

        Any change in the columnar alignment in the listing of a
        single device in /var/backups/work/device.current as generated
        by /etc/security causes every other line to change.  This
        makes the RCS history accumulate excessively, about a thousand
        times faster than the useful information is accumulating, and
        renders the diffs useless for the naked eye.

>How-To-Repeat:

        Create a user whose name is sufficiently long (say nine
        characters).  On some days, own a tty when /etc/security
        runs.  On other days, let root own every device listed.
        Observe the entire file /var/backups/work/device.current
        change.

>Fix:

        Yes, please!  Can ls(1) be persuaded to adjust columns on a
        line-by-line basis, rather than having the adjustment of a
        single line affect the entire output?  Nothing leaps out of
        the man page about this.