time program does not accept arguments

[basicxman]

Binary package hint: time

Ubuntu Release: 10.04
Kernel Version: Linux-2.6.32-22-generic
Package Version: 1.7-23build1
Repository: http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ lucid/main

The `time` command will not accept arguments.

For example,

~$ time -f "%E" nslookup google.com
-f: command not found

real 0m0.184s
user 0m0.140s
sys 0m0.030s

~$

`time`s man page clearly specifies -f is a valid argument and there is even an example with the following syntax,
~$ time -f "%E real,%U user,%S sys" ls -Fs

Something like this should have returned only the formatted value.
~time -f "%E" ls
<ls return>

0m0.184s

---
Using `time` without parameters gives proper return values.

[Dave Gilbert (ubuntu-treblig)]

There are two things called 'time'.
The /usr/bin/time program is what the manual page refers to, however some shells have their own built in time that is simpler;
bash has one that doesn't understand the -f

In bash if you do help time it will give you the details of it's time; if you wish to use the other time make sure always to use /usr/bin/time

Dave