- tz - lists.iana.org

Fun --- someone thinks there're only 24 timezones
by Bennett Todd Dec. 22, 2006

Dec. 22, 2006

<URL:http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/06/11/30/10086170.html> (which I found via slashdot -> wired) describes a building, and mentions: [...] the company plans to build 23 more rotating towers in each of the world's time zones with finance provided by investors linked to the company. Maybe we should give 'em the bad news, they're gonna need a lot more than 23 more towers. One for that research station in the boonies of Australia? :-) -Bennett

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Re: Predictable problems with 3-character time zones, especially the EST/EST5EDT split.
by Paul Eggert Dec. 20, 2006

Dec. 20, 2006

John Stainforth <STAIN(a)uk.ibm.com> writes: > Our understanding is that: > > a) Before tzdata2005r... "EST" refers to the zone that is GMT-5 in Winter > and GMT-4 in Summer, then .... > b) Effective from tzdata2005r, "EST" refers only to some special area(s) > within the Eastern region that are GMT-5 all the year round. That sounds right as far as Java is concerned. But it's not a property of tzdata, it's a property of Java. As far as the tz database is concerned, TZ="EST" has never given you daylight-saving time. Here's the history. Before tzdata2005m, there was no TZ="EST" in the tz database. But we had a desire to support the old 1980s System V TZ names, "EST" being one of them, where "EST" was used in Indiana and meant eastern time with no daylight saving. I don't now recall why we were so focused on being backward-compatible with a long-dead system, but hey! we try hard to be backward-compatible. So, in tzdata2005m through tzdata2005q, TZ="EST" was implemented as an alias for America/Panama in the "backward" file, under the theory that Panama has observed UTC-5 since standard time was introduced in 1908. But this isn't satisfactory, as it mishandles time stamps before 1908, and maybe Panama will observe DST some day. So in tzdata2005r "EST" was given a zone in its own right, in the "northamerica" file. I suspect Java picked "EST" up only in 2005r because Java ignores the "backward" file. In retrospect perhaps we should have omitted these System V names, as they're now causing more trouble with Java than they're worth. Or perhaps we should move them to the "systemv" file now. But that is Arthur's call. >From the Java point of view, I would simply remove all the System V names from Java. I don't see the point of them; they just cause trouble. That is, I would pretend that the following entries don't exist in the "northamerica" file, so that you can continue with the traditional Java interpretation for them. # Zone NAME GMTOFF RULES FORMAT [UNTIL] Zone EST -5:00 - EST Zone MST -7:00 - MST Zone HST -10:00 - HST Zone EST5EDT -5:00 US E%sT Zone CST6CDT -6:00 US C%sT Zone MST7MDT -7:00 US M%sT Zone PST8PDT -8:00 US P%sT

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Re: Predictable problems with 3-character time zones, especially the EST/EST5EDT split.
by Paul Eggert Dec. 19, 2006

Dec. 19, 2006

John Stainforth <STAIN(a)uk.ibm.com> writes: > http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=3068&context=SSNVBF&uid=swg2125… Weird. That URL claims Indiana does not observe daylight saving time, but it does (starting this year). > http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=6466476 which contains > the assertion: "This means that all legacy Applets and applications which > used EST before are now broken". This is all news to me. But it appears to be an issue with Java's old names for time zones, not with the Olson database per se. So you'll have to resolve it at the Java level. You might just want to do what Sun is doing in JDK 7, and add a compatibility mode flag. Set the flag one way, and you get the traditional Java behavior where "EST" means eastern time with daylight saving (did it really mean that? wow, that's confusing). Set the flag the other way, and "EST" means eastern time without daylight saving (which is the traditional real-world meaning in this country, and is the traditional Olson interpretation as well). Perhaps you can ask Sun exactly how that flag will work, and how it will affect "HST", "MST", "PST", etc. I'll CC: this message to the tz list to see whether others have noticed the problem.

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zone and offset designators
by LIVINGSTON Alex Dec. 19, 2006

Dec. 19, 2006

Original version sent 2006 December 09 23:22:04 GMT+11:00, but did not make it to list. I have modified it (including the subject) slightly since then. I am not in favour of alphabetic abbreviations as designators of time zones or time offsets. First, their role is not well defined. Do they apply to A: a geographic region and its entire time-offset history and future, B: a particular single offset from UTC/GMT, or C: a particular set of two or more offsets from UTC/GMT and "rules" describing when changes from one of these offsets to another occur? Second, there seems to be no requirement for them to be globally or historically unique. I would support designators of the following kinds: O-1: a numeric specification of a single offset from UTC/GMT (e.g. "-04:00") Z-1: a specification applying to a point on the earth's surface and indicating the entire history (and expected future history) of the time kept at that point by nearby human beings, as in the tz database (as I understand it) Actually, I might also consent to: O-1A: a numeric specification of two (or more) offsets from UTC/GMT that apply periodically (e.g. "+10:00/+11:00"), though preferably only if such a specifier is unique in the context it is used in (+10:00/+11:00 applies both to Tasmania and mainland southeast Australia, but the two regions change from +10:00 to +11:00 at different times at present, so using that label for a time-specification offset as things currently stand would not be ideal unless it were clear from the context which changeover dates and times applied) and Z-1A: a specification applying to a well-defined, invariant region of the earth's surface and indicating the entire history (and expected future history) of the time kept by human beings occupying that region In the headings I've used to name these types of designator, the "O" indicates applicability to offsets and "Z" indicates primary applicability to zones. However, a Z (zone) designator could also be applied to an offset, in which case it means the offset that applies in that zone (which in the case of Z-1 is a point, not a region). Type O-1 is by far the easiest to work with, and perfectly adequate for many single-instant specifications. Only if (1) a period of time (including possibly a single date) or a repeating scheduled event is to be specified for a particular geographic location or (2) the offset that will apply is not yet known with adequate certainty, as it is tied to yet-to-be-finalised conventions for a particular place, might a single offset not be up to the task. (Have I missed any?) If it is judged that a zone designator for a time specification cannot be avoided, we have the problem of what time is applicable for the period (an hour in the majority of cases) after clocks are retarded, when times that have already passed in the zone are repeated. My only suggestion of what to do about this is to establish a convention that, in the absence of indication to the contrary, the second occurrence of the time specified should be assumed. There is also, of course, the related problem of what to do if a time is specified that never occurs in a zone, because it is skipped over when clocks are advanced. What else could be done besides taking such a specification to mean the instant of the changeover? If some apparent standard or official abbreviated designator is not clear, a lot of effort seems to be put into crafting a "suitable" one for the field labelled (for reasons that aren't all that clear to me) "FORMAT" in the tzdata files. I get the impression that people derive a sense of security from the authority and credibility supposedly lent to time specifications by such labels. Only it is a false sense of security, I would contend. These abbreviations seem to be seized upon by implementors of time-management software as though "official" and indispensable and to be used wherever plausible. I would like to see such enthusiasm diverted to the use, instead, of far less ambiguous and far more informative and helpful designators (like type O-1 especially). I might also add my vehement objection to using numbers derived from time offsets to label zones when the offset indicated by the number does not always apply. An example of this is "EST5EDT". Using offsets to label zones seems from my experience to be almost standard practice in time-related software, but it is grossly misleading when, as is very often the case, the indicated offset simply does not apply for part, indeed sometimes the majority, of the year. If numeric designators of such zones _must_ be used, then _both_ (or all, should there ever be more than two) offsets should be indicated (with equal emphasis). I would, as well, completely avoid the use of the term "standard" to distinguish one of two (or more) offsets that apply in a given zone. It may sometimes be a designation given by a relevant authority, but it is by no means always used, and it is a very poor choice for a generic designation of the less advanced of two offsets that apply at a particular location, since it is far from clear that a standard exists from which the offset that applies could be unambiguously inferred. I think any attempt at pinning down a particular offset as "standard" for a place or region based on longitude should be abandoned. Exceptions - cases of times being kept that deviate considerably from what one would expect (if it is clear at all) given the longitude - are not rare but abundant. Let me list some: the Aleutians, Alaska, Argentina, the Azores, Iceland, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Spain and France, peninsula Malaysia and Singapore, central Australia, parts of far-eastern Russia, the Chatham Islands, and, of course, though not true of the zone as a whole, western China. The term "standard" is applicable to whatever offset is being observed: it is the standard set by those (in authority) observing it (and their subjects). I suggest the terms "basis" and "advanced" instead as generic distinguishers of the two offsets that are periodically observed at any particular location (the latter applying to the offset that is "ahead"), though "winter" and "summer" are also not bad, except that "summer" cannot be unambiguously abbreviated to "S". "Advanced" and "Basis" have the pleasing property of having initials "A" and "B", "A" time being ahead of "B" time. Should more than two offsets ever annually apply to a zone, subsequent letters of the alphabet could be used to distinguish them. I hope I haven't strayed into territory outside the purview of this list.

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Parliamentary Library research note on Australian DST
by Paul Eggert Dec. 16, 2006

Dec. 16, 2006

Last week the Parliamentary Library of Australia issued a research note on daylight saving time in Austrlia. <http://www.aph.gov.au/LIBRARY/Pubs/rn/2006-07/07rn13.pdf>. Of some note: "EST" is listed before "AEST", and similarly for "CST" and "WST", so this is some semiofficial sanction for the abbreviations the tz database uses. The note mentions Eucla time, giving Wikipedia as the reference! (So much for the Australian Parliament being authoritative on the subject of Australian time zones....) It has a strange copyright notice: Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the Copyright Act of 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior written concent of the Department of Parliamentary Services, other than by senators and members of the Australian Parliemant in the course of their official duties. This makes it sound like I didn't have permission to download it off the net, but perhaps I should just ascribe this strange wording to hyperactive Australian copyright lawyers.

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Australia - Broken Hill - Yancowinna
by Oscar van Vlijmen Dec. 16, 2006

Dec. 16, 2006

Broken Hill, or more precise, the whole county of Yancowinna, differs from the rest of New South Wales, as clearly stated in the TZ database. Problem is: what is the "county of Yancowinna"? The Australian Standard Time Act 1987 mentions this county, but doesn't mention the county boundaries. Once they were known, but they have disappeared from recent maps. Finally I found a scan of an old map from the Land Registry, showing the Yancowinna county. Found on the website of The Sydney Morning Herald: <http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/29/1062050651816.html?oneclick=true> Click on field number 2 or download the map directly: <http://www.smh.com.au/specials/leases/pdf/map2.pdf> The following places are within the county boundaries: Broken Hill, The Gorge, Mount Gipps, Silverton, Stephens Creek, Wahratta, Yanco Glen. The name "Wahratta" is not perfectly readable from the map, but I've checked the name and location against the Australia file from the GEOnet Names Server <http://earth-info.nga.mil/gns/> Oscar van Vlijmen 2005-04-23

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RE: tz news from Galicia, Queensland and (of course) Indiana
by Phillip Guerra Dec. 14, 2006

Dec. 14, 2006

What a story! I wish the world would standardize, it would ease the technical issues with my time machine (The Vortal). I can't go back and forth in time for fear I'd land someplace in the moment when I shouldn't. Now, I have to just 'wing' it, and there have been a lot of close calls, I can tell you. I can also tell you that it won't happen any time soon. ;) -----Original Message----- From: Eric Muller [mailto:emuller@adobe.com] Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 2:53 AM To: tz(a)lecserver.nci.nih.gov Cc: tz(a)lecserver.nci.nih.gov Subject: Re: tz news from Galicia, Queensland and (of course) Indiana Paul Eggert wrote: > The Budd Insurance Agency has a special clock with one minute hand but > two hour hands, one for each time zone: David Budd says that the clock > shows "Pulaski Time". > What about a clock with 12 hour hands and 4(?) minute hands (the "World Time" clock)? Eric. Confidentiality Notice: This email message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s), and may contain privileged or confidential information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by replying to this email, and destroy all copies of the original message.

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tz news from Galicia, Queensland and (of course) Indiana
by Paul Eggert Dec. 12, 2006

Dec. 12, 2006

The Galician nationalist party BNG voted on December 4 to move Galicia into the same time zone as Portugal and the UK. The other parties disagree, though. See <http://www.santiago-today.com/index.php?q=04-dec-2006-galician_nationalist_…> (2006-12-04). Queensland is considering holding a referendum on daylight saving early next year. The idea is that the southeast corner would observe DST. However, they haven't decided yet whether Toowoomba and half of Cooloola shire fall into that southeast corner. See <http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Qld-to-study-daylight-saving-early-2007…>. The Democrats have regained control of the Indiana House and are pushing for a "nonbinding" referendum on daylight saving time for Indiana. Republicans seem firmly in the pro-daylight-saving camp. See Dan Shaw's story in the Journal and Courier <http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061109/ELECTION01/6110…>. Tom Wyatt of the Post-Tribune reports that the citizens of Pulaski county, Indiana have mostly voted with their feet for eastern time, and it's likely this will become official soon. Because the federal government threatened to cut off funds if the county did not observe central time while central time is official, government offices all observe central time. However, they've moved their hours to be consistent with eastern time. For example, the post office is now open 07:30/15:30 central time, whereas it used to be open 08:30/16:30. The school district observes eastern time but calls it "Commerce Time" so that they won't run afoul of the feds. Many businesses (e.g., the 1st Source Bank) use eastern time, but some (e.g., Ed's Barbershop) use central time. The Budd Insurance Agency has a special clock with one minute hand but two hour hands, one for each time zone: David Budd says that the clock shows "Pulaski Time". See <http://www.post-trib.com/news/150389,winamac.article> (2006-11-27).

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time-zone designators
by LIVINGSTON Alex Dec. 9, 2006

Dec. 9, 2006

I am not in favour of alphabetic abbreviations as designators of time zones. First, their role is not well defined. Do they apply to A: a geographic region and its entire time-offset history and future, B: a particular single offset from UTC/GMT, or C: a particular set of two or more offsets from UTC/GMT and "rules" describing when changes from one of these offsets to another occur? Second, there seems to be no requirement for them to be globally or historically unique. I would support two types of time-offset designation: 1: a numeric specification of a single offset from UTC/GMT (e.g. -04:00) 2: a specification applying to a point on the earth's surface and indicating the entire history (and expected future history) of the time kept at that point by nearby human beings, as in the tz database (as I understand it) Actually, I might also consent to: 1A: a numeric specification of two (or more) offsets from UTC/GMT that apply periodically (e.g. +10:00/11:00), though only if such a specifier is unique in the context it is used in (+10:00/+11:00 applies both to Tasmania and mainland southeast Australia, but the two regions change from +10:00 to +11:00 at different times at present, so using that label for a zone as things currently stand would not be on) 2A: a specification applying to a well-defined, invariant region of the earth's surface and indicating the entire history (and expected future history) of the time kept by human beings occupying that region Type 1 is by far the easiest to work with, and perfectly adequate for single-instant specifications. Only if, for a particular geographic location, a period of time (including possibly a single date) or a repeating scheduled event is to be specified might a single offset not be up to the task. If some apparent standard abbreviated designator is not clear, a lot of effort seems to be put into crafting a "suitable" one for the field labelled (for reasons that aren't all that clear to me) "FORMAT" in the tzdata files. I get the impression that people derive a sense of security from the authority and credibility supposedly lent to time specifications by such labels. Only it is a false sense of security, I would contend. These abbreviations seem to be seized upon by implementors of time-management software as though "official" and indispensable and to be appended enthusiastically to time specifications. I would like to see such enthusiasm diverted to the use, instead, of far less ambiguous and far more informative and helpful designators (like type 1 especially). (I realise now that I have somewhat conflated time zones with time specifications. I don't think my comments are affected that much by this.) I hope I haven't strayed into territory outside the purview of this list.

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FW: time in southeastern Western Australia
by Olson, Arthur David (NIH/NCI) [E] Dec. 8, 2006

Dec. 8, 2006

I'm forwarding this message from Alex Livingston who, since sending it, has subscribed to the time zone mailing list. --ado -----Original Message----- From: LIVINGSTON Alex [mailto:lial@mac.com] Sent: Friday, December 08, 2006 1:03 AM To: tz(a)lecserver.nci.nih.gov Subject: re: time in southeastern Western Australia Further to my previous message, here is a link to a picture of the sign I referred to: http://www.confluence.org/photo.php?visitid=10280&pic=7 It shows that my memory did not serve me perfectly.

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re: time in southeastern Western Australia
by LIVINGSTON Alex Dec. 8, 2006

Dec. 8, 2006

Further to my previous message, here is a link to a picture of the sign I referred to: http://www.confluence.org/photo.php?visitid=10280&pic=7 It shows that my memory did not serve me perfectly.

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time in southeastern Western Australia
by LIVINGSTON Alex Dec. 8, 2006

Dec. 8, 2006

Apologies if this has already been covered. I checked the latest tzdata file and there seems to be no mention of it. I have been meaning to write this for nearly four years; it was just on four years ago that I drove along the Eyre Highway, which passes through eastern Western Australia close to the southern coast of the continent. I paid particular attention to the time kept there. There can be no dispute that UTC+08:45 was considered "the time" from the border village just inside the border with South Australia to as far west as just east of Caiguna. There can also be no dispute that Eucla is the largest population centre in this zone, having a population of "40 or 50" (from memory what the proprietor of the roadhouse said when I asked him); it even has named side streets off the highway, and a very modern meteorological observatory and office. The other settlements, Cocklebiddy, Madura, Mundrabilla, and the border village, have much smaller permanent populations (around a dozen at most). So if a new zone were to be added to the tz database it should be called "Australia/Eucla". To back up my assertions I was going to refer to photographs I took of the three clocks at the border crossing (showing, Perth, local, and Adelaide time, respectively) and of the clearly "official" sign (galvanised-steel posts and frame, well-cut rectangular sheet-metal plate with rounded corners, stencilled lettering, and reflective paint) proclaiming "Central Western Time" that is seen just after leaving Caiguna heading east, but I have not published them yet and I do not have the time to check them now. (I think the sign also says, in smaller lettering, "Advance Clocks 45 Minutes".) This zone is also shown on the excellent map at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Timezones_optimized.png (obviously based on the CIA time-zone map). "Central Western Time" is mentioned in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_zone, where an estimated population for this region of 200 (according with what I would have guessed) is also given. (Unfortunately the phrase "Western Central Standard Time" is used in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_Australia to refer to the same thing.) Now that Western Australia is observing daylight saving, the question arose whether this part of the state would follow suit. I just called the border village [+61 (0)8 9039-3474; from online white pages] and confirmed that indeed they have, meaning that they are now observing UTC+09:45. There is one more curiosity to report about this isolated part of the world. The old Eyre telegraph station, just behind the coastal sand dunes southeast of Cocklebiddy, is now run as a bird observatory as well as a weather station and guest house. Its permanent population is 2 (a caretaker couple). I stayed there for a night on my way through and noticed that they kept a time different both from Perth and "the highway" (phrase used by caretaker; see below); they have a clock in their kitchen with a Dymo label on it stating "Eyre Std. Time" (I took a picture). It was UT+09:00, meaning a whole hour ahead of Perth, making their checking and reporting of weather data (which the Perth weather bureau expects to be done according to Perth time) simpler. I have just called them [+61 (0)8 9039-3450, also from online white pages], and they too have advanced their clocks with the rest of the state, putting them on UTC+10:00 and maintaining their one-hour difference from Perth. As far as I'm concerned this warrants another time zone, Australia/Eyre, despite the tiny permanent population! I seem to remember that what matters to this list is what time people actually keep, not statutory status. I hope the hour or two I've spent preparing and writing this turns out to be of some value.

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Oddness in file interpretation - I assume I am missing something...
by Philip Warner Dec. 6, 2006

Dec. 6, 2006

The current files have the following zone & rules: Freetown Zone Africa/Freetown -0:53:00 - LMT 1882 -0:53:00 - FMT 1913 Jun # Freetown Mean Time -1:00 SL %s 1957 0:00 SL %s Rule SL 1935 1942 - Oct 1 0:00 0 WAT Rule SL 1957 1962 - Jun 1 0:00 1:00 SLST Rule SL 1957 1962 - Sep 1 0:00 0 GMT And zic produces, among others, the following transition: Africa/Freetown Sun Jun 1 00:52:59 1913 UTC = Sat May 31 23:59:59 1913 FMT isdst=0 Africa/Freetown Sun Jun 1 00:53:00 1913 UTC = Sat May 31 23:53:00 1913 WAT isdst=0 The problem/question I have is: based on the above rules, it is not at all clear to me that Sat May 31 23:53:00 1913 should be designated 'WAT'; in fact I would have thought there would be a case for it being 'FMT' since none if the 'SL' rules apply in 1913. This is further complicated by the following rules & zones: Zone Africa/Algiers 0:12:12 - LMT 1891 Mar 15 0:01 0:09:21 - PMT 1911 Mar 11 # Paris Mean Time 0:00 Algeria WE%sT 1940 Feb 25 2:00 1:00 Algeria CE%sT 1946 Oct 7 Rule Algeria 1916 only - Jun 14 23:00s 1:00 S Rule Algeria 1916 1919 - Oct Sun>=1 23:00s 0 - which for the transition in 1911 produces 'WET'; apparently *not* using the 'S' from the first rule. And this set: Zone Africa/Accra -0:00:52 - LMT 1918 0:00 Ghana %s Rule Ghana 1936 1942 - Sep 1 0:00 0:20 GHST Rule Ghana 1936 1942 - Dec 31 0:00 0 GMT which produces 'GMT' for the transition in 1918. Can someone confirm that zic is doing the right thing (which I kind of assume it is by definition), and perhaps give me a rule to follow when performing the %s substitutions? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Africa/Asmera / Africa/Asmara
by Klaus Klein Dec. 5, 2006

Dec. 5, 2006

Feedback from one of our users, forwarded with permission. I've checked with the usual suspects (i.e., diplomatic services' web sites), which confirm the Asmara spelling. - Klaus ----- Forwarded message from Zafer Aydogan <zafer(a)aydogan.de> ----- the city name of Asmera has changed to Asmara. Shall we update the name in the zoneinfo file ? /usr/share/zoneinfo/Africa/ Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asmera Zafer. ----- End forwarded message -----

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Cuba is back into the CST zone :-)
by Roger Pe�a Escobio Dec. 4, 2006

Dec. 4, 2006

Hi I am using CentOS-4.4 a clone of RHEL-4.4 and with the more recent updates to the tzdata package (tzdata-2006m) we move from Havana CST to the Havana CDT, then our servers just went 1 hour to the future :-) I look into the changelog and for cuba, inside the northamerica file you can find, I cuote: # From Steffen Thorsen (2006-08-17): # It is likely that they are not reverting back to standard time this # year either, based on the number of responses I have got from users # (when my site claimed Cuba will end DST on lastSun/October) but , as a matter of fact, we revert back to CST last October you can see the Steffen page now: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=99 and the corresponding news in the newspapers: http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2006/10/27/nacional/artic03.html http://cubahora.co.cu/index.php?tpl=principal/ver-noticias/ver-not_soc.tpl.… I am placing a bug report into the RedHat Bugzilla also thanks in advance roger __________________________________________ RedHat Certified Engineer ( RHCE ) Cisco Certified Network Associate ( CCNA ) ____________________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Music Unlimited Access over 1 million songs. http://music.yahoo.com/unlimited

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Question about From & To rule fields...just t be certain I understand
by Philip Warner Dec. 3, 2006

Dec. 3, 2006

I'd like to clarify which year should be compared in from/to fields for rules (and zone lines). It seems reasonable that the AT field determines which year is to be compared (wallclock, utc or standard) -- is that correct? To give specific example: Rule Test 1999 only - Jan 1 0:00 2:00 - Rule Test 2000 only - Jan 1 0:00 0:00 - These are both wallclock rules, and suppose they are used in a region that is GMT+5. Then at UTC 31-Dec-1999 17:00 the WC time will turn to midnight....is that the point at which the clocks would be adjusted? And if so, in the following example: Rule Test 1999 only - Jan 1 0:00 2:00u - Rule Test 2000 only - Jan 1 0:00 0:00u - would the clocks adjust at UTC time 1-Jan-2000?

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Vzic indicates missing tz rules
by Andy McDonald Dec. 1, 2006

Dec. 1, 2006

I've been using 'vzic' (http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/prod/dialspace/town/pipexdsl/s/asbm26/vzic/) to convert tz data to iCal. vzic 1.3 issues the following - hopefully self-explanatory warnings when run against tz/2006p: ----------------- andy@zanzibar:~/packages/vzic-1.3$ ./vzic --pure WARNING: Couldn't find a LETTER_S to use in FORMAT: C%sT in Zone: Asia/Macau Leaving TZNAME empty WARNING: Couldn't find a LETTER_S to use in FORMAT: TM%sT in Zone: Asia/Ashgabat Leaving TZNAME empty WARNING: Couldn't find a LETTER_S to use in FORMAT: CE%sT in Zone: Europe/Warsaw Leaving TZNAME empty WARNING: Couldn't find a LETTER_S to use in FORMAT: WE%sT in Zone: Atlantic/Azores Leaving TZNAME empty WARNING: Couldn't find a LETTER_S to use in FORMAT: Y%sT in Zone: America/Nome Leaving TZNAME empty WARNING: Couldn't find a LETTER_S to use in FORMAT: M%sT in Zone: America/Inuvik Leaving TZNAME empty WARNING: Couldn't find a LETTER_S to use in FORMAT: P%sT in Zone: America/Whitehorse Leaving TZNAME empty WARNING: Couldn't find a LETTER_S to use in FORMAT: P%sT in Zone: America/Dawson Leaving TZNAME empty andy@zanzibar:~/packages/vzic-1.3$ ----------------- (this is a slightly modified version of vzic - see below; the '--pure' option is not important). Following through in tz for America/Inuvik, we see: ----------------- # Rule NAME FROM TO TYPE IN ON AT SAVE LETTER/S Rule NT_YK 1918 only - Apr 14 2:00 1:00 D Rule NT_YK 1918 only - Oct 27 2:00 0 S ... Zone America/Inuvik -8:54:52 - LMT 1884 -8:00 NT_YK P%sT 1979 Apr lastSun 2:00 -7:00 NT_YK M%sT 1980 -7:00 Canada M%sT ----------------- Significantly, America/Inuvik is defined explicitly from the 1800's onwards, but the rule NT_YK is defined only from 1918, hence this missing 'LETTER/S'. Similar issues affect America/Whitehorse and America/Dawson. America/Nome uses the rule 'US' from 1943 to 1946, although the rule isn't defined for most of that period. Spot-checking the other problem zones indicates similar problems. I've exchanged a few e-mails with the developer of vzic; he pointed out that vzic works around most of the above 'problem' zones (see line 899 of vzic_output.c, v1.3); I commented out the workaround to derive the above output. With the workaround, vzic warns on Inuvik, Whitehorse and Dawson only. Andy

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register timezone mailing list
by Tri Duong Minh Nov. 30, 2006

Nov. 30, 2006

Hi All, I would like to join timezone mailing list. Could you please register for me? My information: Email: dmtri(a)tma.com.vn First name: Tri Full name: Duong Minh Tri Sex: Male Nationality: Vietnam Regards, Tri Duong Shasta - Application EXT: 5669

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FW: Suggestions about separation and ISO code
by Olson, Arthur David (NIH/NCI) [E] Nov. 29, 2006

Nov. 29, 2006

I'm forwarding this message from Jonas Melian who, after sending it, has subscribed to the time zone mailing list. --ado -----Original Message----- From: Jonas Melian [mailto:jonas.esp@googlemail.com] Sent: Monday, November 27, 2006 6:21 AM To: tz(a)lecserver.nci.nih.gov Subject: Suggestions about separation and ISO code Some suggestions: 1) To using ISO 3166 3-character country code becasuse is more readable. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1 For any person it's easier to identify a country by the code of 3-letters that by the one of 2-letters. 2) Columns separated by another character different of a tab, as ':'. So it's more readable for humans and too for the machines. And so it's easier to maintain that table. I comment you these suggestions because I have something of experience with this type of tables as you can see here: http://webda.python-hosting.com/browser/trunk/data Greetings!

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Turkey DST data missmatch
by Tiberiu Covaci Nov. 28, 2006

Nov. 28, 2006

Hi, According to the http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=107 Turkey is observing DST same as EU but instead of using 1:00 local time, they are using 1:00u. A closer look in the europe file, will show that they use EU rule with no change (1:00 local time). According to unofficial sources in Turkey, and Worldclock representant, the right value would be 1:00u. Please advice how to proceed to make the data into the next release of tzdata. Regards, Tiberiu Covaci

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Faroe Islands
by Sue Williams Nov. 28, 2006

Nov. 28, 2006

The ISO 3166 English spelling for this region is "Faroe Islands". http://www.iso.org/iso/en/prods-services/iso3166ma/02iso-3166-code-lists/li… Since the ISO spelling is normally approved by the government of the region involved, the ISO spelling is probably a reliable reference. ...Sue

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FW: Turkey DST data missmatch
by Olson, Arthur David (NIH/NCI) [E] Nov. 28, 2006

Nov. 28, 2006

I'm forwarding this message from Tiberiu Covaci, who is not on the time zone mailing list. Those of you who are on the list should direct replies appropriately. --ado -----Original Message----- From: Tiberiu Covaci [mailto:tcovaci@bea.com] Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 4:10 AM To: tz(a)lecserver.nci.nih.gov Subject: Turkey DST data missmatch Hi, According to the http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=107 Turkey is observing DST same as EU but instead of using 1:00 local time, they are using 1:00u. A closer look in the europe file, will show that they use EU rule with no change (1:00 local time). According to unofficial sources in Turkey, and Worldclock representant, the right value would be 1:00u. Please advice how to proceed to make the data into the next release of tzdata. Regards, Tiberiu Covaci

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Previous erroneous subject
by Olson, Arthur David (NIH/NCI) [E] Nov. 28, 2006

Nov. 28, 2006

Bennett Todd was kind enough to point out that while yesterday's new-version announcement had correct references to the "2006p" versions of files in the text of the message, my subject incorrectly referenced "2006o" versions. --ado

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FW: Faeoroe
by Olson, Arthur David (NIH/NCI) [E] Nov. 28, 2006

Nov. 28, 2006

I'm forwarding this message from Jonas Melian who, after sending it, has subscribed to the time zone mailing list. --ado -----Original Message----- From: Jonas Melian [mailto:jonas.esp@googlemail.com] Sent: Monday, November 27, 2006 6:01 AM To: tz(a)lecserver.nci.nih.gov Subject: Faeoroe Hi, In zone.tab is Faeore and its actual name is Faroe. FO +6201-00646 Atlantic/Faeroe http://www.iso.org/iso/en/prods-services/iso3166ma/02iso-3166-code-lists /list-en1.html You can see too in Wipikedia as you are redirected from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faeroe_Islands to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faroe_Islands

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proposed tz patch for Western Australia
by Paul Eggert Nov. 28, 2006

Nov. 28, 2006

Here's a proposed patch for the Western Australia change on Dec. 3. It incorporates other minor changes I've been saving up. Changes that affect near-future time stamps: * Western Australia starts DST on December 3. (Thanks to Jesper Norgaard Welen for the initial warning, and to Christopher Hunt for letting us know it was official.) This patch migrates the WA DST idiosyncracies into Rule lines, where they probably belonged anyway. I realize the official legislation specifies dates rather than "Mar lastSun", but we commonly reverse-engineer the underlying rules in other situations and might as well do so consistently here. Changes affecting location data only: * The coordinates for Jersey and Podgorica were off. (Thanks to Andy McDonald for noting this.) Changes affecting the web page only: * Add references to FoxClocks <http://www.stemhaus.com/firefox/foxclocks/> and to Time Zone <http://kimmo.suominen.com/sw/timezone/>. --- australasia 2006/08/21 13:56:08 2006.11 +++ australasia 2006/11/22 20:43:04 2006.11.0.2 @@ -29,15 +29,25 @@ Zone Australia/Darwin 8:43:20 - LMT 189 9:00 - CST 1899 May 9:30 Aus CST # Western Australia +# +# From Christopher Hunt (2006-11-21), after an advance warning +# from Jesper Norgaard Welen (2006-11-01): +# WA are trialing DST for three years. +# <http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/bills.nsf/62D4F7C55EA88993482572…> +# +# Rule NAME FROM TO TYPE IN ON AT SAVE LETTER/S +Rule AW 1974 only - Oct lastSun 2:00s 1:00 - +Rule AW 1975 only - Mar Sun>=1 2:00s 0 - +Rule AW 1983 only - Oct lastSun 2:00s 1:00 - +Rule AW 1984 only - Mar Sun>=1 2:00s 0 - +Rule AW 1991 only - Nov 17 2:00s 1:00 - +Rule AW 1992 only - Mar Sun>=1 2:00s 0 - +Rule AW 2006 only - Dec 3 2:00s 1:00 - +Rule AW 2007 2009 - Mar lastSun 2:00s 0 - +Rule AW 2007 2008 - Oct lastSun 2:00s 1:00 - Zone Australia/Perth 7:43:24 - LMT 1895 Dec 8:00 Aus WST 1943 Jul - 8:00 - WST 1974 Oct lastSun 2:00s - 8:00 1:00 WST 1975 Mar Sun>=1 2:00s - 8:00 - WST 1983 Oct lastSun 2:00s - 8:00 1:00 WST 1984 Mar Sun>=1 2:00s - 8:00 - WST 1991 Nov 17 2:00s - 8:00 1:00 WST 1992 Mar Sun>=1 2:00s - 8:00 - WST + 8:00 AW WST # Queensland # # From Alex Livingston (1996-11-01): --- zone.tab 2006/10/10 15:31:46 2006.14 +++ zone.tab 2006/11/22 20:34:56 2006.14.0.1 @@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ IQ +3321+04425 Asia/Baghdad IR +3540+05126 Asia/Tehran IS +6409-02151 Atlantic/Reykjavik IT +4154+01229 Europe/Rome -JE +4912-00237 Europe/Jersey +JE +4912-00207 Europe/Jersey JM +1800-07648 America/Jamaica JO +3157+03556 Asia/Amman JP +353916+1394441 Asia/Tokyo @@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ LY +3254+01311 Africa/Tripoli MA +3339-00735 Africa/Casablanca MC +4342+00723 Europe/Monaco MD +4700+02850 Europe/Chisinau -ME +4247+01928 Europe/Podgorica +ME +4226+01916 Europe/Podgorica MG -1855+04731 Indian/Antananarivo MH +0709+17112 Pacific/Majuro most locations MH +0905+16720 Pacific/Kwajalein Kwajalein --- tz-link.htm 2006/11/06 14:17:39 2006.15 +++ tz-link.htm 2006/11/22 20:34:56 2006.15.0.1 @@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ <meta http-equiv="Content-type" content='text/html; charset="US-ASCII"'> <meta name="DC.Creator" content="Eggert, Paul"> <meta name="DC.Contributor" content="Olson, Arthur David"> -<meta name="DC.Date" content="2006-10-31"> +<meta name="DC.Date" content="2006-11-22"> <meta name="DC.Description" content="Sources of information about time zones and daylight saving time"> <meta name="DC.Identifier" content="http://www.twinsun.com/tz/tz-link.htm"> @@ -242,6 +242,17 @@ It is freely available under the <abbr>L </ul> <h2>Other <code>tz</code>-based time zone software</h2> <ul> +<li><a href="http://www.stemhaus.com/firefox/foxclocks/">FoxClocks</a> +is an extension for <a +href="http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Toolkit_API">Mozilla +Toolkit</a> applications like <a +href="http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/">Firefox</a>, <a +href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/">Thunderbird</a>, and +<a +href="http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird/">Sunbird</a>. +It displays multiple clocks in the application window, and has a mapping +interface to <a href="http://earth.google.com/">Google Earth</a>. +It is freely available under the <abbr>GPL</abbr>.</li> <li><a href="http://users.skynet.be/Peter.Verthez/projects/intclock/">International clock (intclock)</a> is a multi-timezone clock for @@ -250,6 +261,9 @@ under the <abbr>GPL</abbr>.</li> <li><a href="http://java.sun.com/">Sun Java</a> releases since 1.4 contain a copy of a subset of a recent <code>tz</code> database in a Java-specific format.</li> +<li><a href="http://kimmo.suominen.com/sw/timezone/">Time Zone</a> is +a <a href="http://wordpress.org/">WordPress</a> plugin. It is freely +available under a <abbr>BSD</abbr>-style license.</li> <li><a href="http://www.veladg.com/velaterra.html">VelaTerra</a> is a Mac OS X program. Its developers

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