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getlogin

This implements the C library function of the same name, which on most systems returns the current login from /etc/utmp, if any. If it returns the empty string, use getpwuid.

my $login = getlogin || getpwuid($<) || "Kilroy";

Do not consider getlogin for authentication: it is not as secure as getpwuid.

Portability issues: "getlogin" in perlport.