ns (nanoseconds) and mcs (microseconds)

Print nanosecond Unix timestamp. Blazingly fast. Written in a few Zig lines.

    $ ns
    1737006005004003002

    $ mcs
    1737006005004004

On my computer in 2025, ns returns only microsecond precision. However, we may hope that hardware, os, and zig will return true nanosecond timestamps in the mythical future: https://github.com/ziglang/zig/blob/master/lib/std/time.zig

Build and run ns (nanoseconds)

zig build-exe ns.zig -OReleaseFast -fsingle-threaded
./ns

Build and run mcs (microseconds)

zig build-exe mcs.zig -OReleaseFast -fsingle-threaded
./mcs

Output (one line)

    ns
    1731603603002001000

    -------------- no nanosecond
    -------------- 1 microsecond
    ----------- 2 milliseconds
    -------- 3 seconds

    mcs
    1731603603002001

    ----- 3600 seconds > 1 hour
    - 31557... seconds > 1 year
    17356..... seconds ~ 55 years

Install the executables

To make the ns and/or mcs executables available as command-line commands, you can move them to a directory included in your PATH. Common choices are $HOME/bin or $HOME/.local/bin.

Step 1: Ensure a bin directory exists and is in your PATH

If you don’t already have a suitable home bin directory, you can create one and add it to your PATH. Run the following commands (use .zshrc for ZSH and .bashrc for BASH):

mkdir -p $HOME/.local/bin
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Step 2: Move the executables

Once your bin directory is ready and included in your PATH, move one or both executables:

mv ns mcs $HOME/.local/bin

Step 3: Verify the installation

Ensure the installed commands are accessible from anywhere by running:

ns
mcs

If both commands run successfully (each displaying a large integer such as 171234567890...), the installation is complete. You can now use them like any other command-line utility.

Limerick for humans

    Permission is granted hereby,
    to copy, share, use, modify,
        for purposes any,
        for free or for money,
    provided these notices multiply.

    This work "as is" I provide,
    no warranty express or implied,
        for, no purpose fit,
        `tis unmerchantable shit.
    Liability for damages denied.

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2025 Alexander E Genaud

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.

Ziggy the Ziguana