- tz - lists.iana.org

Attempting to get speedier tz updates
by Robert Elz Oct. 21, 2011

Oct. 21, 2011

Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:16:11 +0100 From: "Clive D.W. Feather" <clive(a)davros.org> Message-ID: <20111020131611.GD27386(a)davros.org> In a message that started out on another thread I don't want to get involved with ... | While it would be nice if they sent us updates, we can't force them. That's true, but I kind of suspect, that we have never even asked. I had been wondering about that, and considering doming something about it, for months now - and just possibly "considering" is all it would ever have been, however, perhaps we should attempt a little better than that. Attempting to contact everyone responsible, directly, would be a lot of work, just identifying the parties involved, so I thought it might be possible to take an easier route, and just ask the UN to do the contact work for us - that is, we write to the UN Secretary General, and ask that the message be redistributed to all member states - the message being a request that they ask whoever (whatever agency) is responsible for actually implementing time issues, to please inform us of any planned or actual changes - and perhaps, if they're able, any historical data they have. If people think this is a reasonable idea then I will implement it. Note: I don't much care if you expect it to actually succeed - if it fails, it has cost almost nothing, but if anyone can see an actual negative possibility from this, then I'd like to hear about it. Also, while I'm happy to draft (and circulate to the list before sending) the letter involved, it would probably be nice from the UN's viewpoint, if we could send in both English and French (and anything else? I doubt we need to consider attempting all 6 official languages.) That I cannot do, so I'd need assistance with translation into French (and anything else suggested as a good idea) - and that assistance needs to be from a fluent (native) speaker I believe, not someone who learned the language in school. Any volunteers? (It won't be very long.) kre

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temporary timezone database home ...
by Robert Elz Oct. 21, 2011

Oct. 21, 2011

First, I am assuming this copy of the list is actually functioning, (and I've just received jhawk's message which demonstrates that it is) I don't believe it has been used for actual messages before that one, but as ado has indicated that the list at elsie has been (for now anyway) terminated - and given the plan was to migrate from it eventually anyway, may never return, we can but hope this version of the list is functional. Some of you who receive this message may have been removed from the elsie version of the list recently, or altered your subscription details - if that applies to you, use the iana.org message sent on the 1st of this month to all subscribers to their list for instructions on how to modify or delete your subscription. Don't send requests to me (or anyone else on the list) there's nothing I (or we) can do about it - and most certainly, do not send requests to the list itself asking to be removed. Unfortunately, there are probably a few people who were added to the elsie list since it was cloned at iana.org but there's nothing much we can do about that - if anyone is contacted by anyone who believes they should be on the list, but is no longer receiving messages, direct them to the iana website for list subscriptions. Next, while elsie's ftp server is shut down, munnari.oz.au isn't, and the tz database & code remains available from here. Further, I will not respond to requests from (almost) anyone to cease making those files available (including Arthur and Paul - but by all means feel free to try if you need to to satisfy some obligation to cease making the data available - I'll ignore you, but you will at least have used every reasonable effort...) Second, regardless of this, the world's governments continue to adjust their view of their local timezones & summer time adjustments, so we need to continue updating the database (at least). There are several updates that will be needed soon. For now, until someone else volunteers, I'm prepared to make the updates, in much the same way that Arthur did, and then make new releases available from munnari's ftp server. I suspect that it is unlikely that either Arthur or Paul will be able to assist much with this in the coming months, so I'm hoping that others will assist where possible. For now, I'm aware of changes needed for Armenia, Fiji, Bolivia, Brazil, and of course, the changes that (might be) needed for Russia. If there's anything else I missed, please let me know. Unfortunately, I don't have the sccs (or is it rcs or something these days) master files, so I won't be able to do quite the same job that Arthur did, but I can keep all versions so they can be checked into a version control system later. It would be good if a few others, especially people in jurisdictions that tend not to simply bow down to US court rulings, would keep copies of the code and data, and make them publicly available via ftp or http (this is not of huge public interest, the resources needed to provide this service should not be very noticeable). All I know of the lawsuit is what jhawk's message indicated - eventually I assume we'll find out what trademark or patent that someone believes is being infringed (a little hard to believe either, but who knows...) The URL's of the current versions of the files from munnari.oz.au are ... ftp://munnari.oz.au/pub/tzcode2011i.tar.gz ftp://munnari.oz.au/pub/tzdata2011k.tar.gz and of course, the historical files (most versions that were ever previously released) are in ftp://munnari.oz.au/pub/oldtz/ kre

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Re: [tz] Robert Elz as TZ coordinator
by David Braverman Oct. 21, 2011

Oct. 21, 2011

I hate to throw a spanner in the works, and I do think KRE is right for the job, but are we all certain he even wants this greatness thrust upon him?

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Re: [tz] Robert Elz as TZ coordinator
by SM Oct. 20, 2011

Oct. 20, 2011

At 14:54 20-10-2011, M3 Sweatt wrote: >Is there an outline or summary of what the requirements and actions >of the coordinator would be going forward? draft-lear-iana-timezone-database-04 discusses about the TZ coordinator. >Generally no objections, just curious if the Coordinator role and >responsibility has been memorialized somewhere. Although the draft (it will be published as a RFC) discusses the role and responsibilities, it is more about the TZ community using its best judgement to keep up the good work that was started by Ado. Robert commented on the current work ( http://mm.icann.org/pipermail/tz/2011-October/008093.html ). I think that the message at http://mm.icann.org/pipermail/tz/2011-October/007993.html summaries the tone to expect from the TZ community. Regards, -sm

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time zone suggestions
by Steven Abner Oct. 20, 2011

Oct. 20, 2011

Hi Not sure if I should contact the organization or Zefram. But it looks like the new management might be open to some queries and/or options from outside sources. This information pertains to northamerica, and one was accepted by you already, where Mr. Olson implied it was correct, so you may have to alter the information I am supplying. They are suggestions only, and were done to aid parsing of the tz data, different parser with more strict rules for converting. Feel free to ignore, or pick out what you feel relevant, as only the Sitka change was of any real importance. The Anchorage one was to keep the northamerica rules from needing the translation unit of the europe file rules, which I altered to follow the majority of your data files. This is one of the patches I use to set your data to my data. Sorry to intrude, Steve

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List Administration Note (How to unsubscribe)
by Kim Davies Oct. 20, 2011

Oct. 20, 2011

Hi all, For those who no longer wish to be subscribed to the Time Zone mailing list, emailing all the subscribers of this list of your desire is not the recommended method. Please visit https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/tz where you can unsubscribe or change your subscription options. Alternatively, if you can email _from your subscribed address_ to tz-request(a)iana.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". If your address does not show as on the list, you'll need to identify under which email address you originally subscribed from. If you need help with this, please forward an email you received from this list to tz-owner(a)iana.org, but preserve all the mail headers, so we can try and trace where it was sent. Thanks, kim

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Ukraine to keep winter time after all
by Philip.Pizzey＠sita.aero Oct. 18, 2011

Oct. 18, 2011

Hi there, I've been following the recent discussions on this list about the timezone changes in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. Today my Ukrainian colleagues have informed me that the Ukrainian parliament have decided that they will go to winter time this year after all. Please see the following link: http://portal.rada.gov.ua/rada/control/en/publish/article/info_left?art_id=… > > The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Resolution "On changing the Order of Computation of Time in the Territory of Ukraine" No. 3755-VI of September 20, 2011 was declared invalid. > Cheers, Phil.

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Short notice: Ukraine invalidates law to introduce permanent DST
by udo.schwedt＠obi.de Oct. 18, 2011

Oct. 18, 2011

As far as I understand, the recent change to the Ukranian time zone (Europe/Kiev) to introduce permanent daylight saving time (similar to Russia) was reverted today: http://portal.rada.gov.ua/rada/control/en/publish/article/info_left?art_id=… AFAICS, this means that the current Kiev time zone (UTC/GMT +3 hours) will be changed back to former Ukrainian standard time (UTC/GMT +2 hours) by the end of this month (October 2011). Thus the original DST rules (that were changed with tzinfo2011k) will have to be restored. I don't know how such near-term situations are usually handled (I'm fairly new to this list), but I'd like to bring this to your attention and propose a change at short notice. Thanks, -- Udo -- IMPORTANT NOTICE: This email is confidential, may be legally privileged, and is for the intended recipient only. Access, disclosure, copying, distribution, or reliance on any of it by anyone else is prohibited and may be a criminal offence. Please delete if obtained in error and email confirmation to the sender.

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Astrolabe lawsuit update
by David Braverman Oct. 17, 2011

Oct. 17, 2011

Astrolabe, Inc., sent out a press release overnight: http://www.thedailyparker.com/CommentView,guid,bded3439-6019-4389-93a3-29af… And I responded, if anyone's interested: http://www.thedailyparker.com/PermaLink,guid,103d30f9-4d58-4b72-9f5a-8db45e… I hope this isn't out of scope for the list. I figured people might be interested in the latest developments in the case. David Braverman Weather Now<http://www.wx-now.com/>

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Proposed time zone package changes (Fiji, Bahia Brazil, West Bank(Hebron))
by Robert Elz Oct. 17, 2011

Oct. 17, 2011

Here are proposed changes to the time zone package. I'm releasing these changes now as the change to Bahia, Brazil, is due to take effect next Sunday week (8 or 9 days away, or something), so getting at least that change distributed now is urgent. The executive summary asia Changed the end date for Summer Time for this year (2011) to match reality reported by Steffen Thorsen. northamerica Corrected typo in (ancient) LMT zone offset as detected by Zefram. southamerica Resume Summer Time in Bahia, Brazil (following the standard Brazil algorithm, which causes Summer time to start Oct 16 this year, which matches the report.) australasia Adjust the end date for Summer time in Fiji in 2012 (Feb) as reported by Steffen Thorsen. That Bolivia will not start Summer time this year seems fortuitous as apparently we had no idea that it had been intended. Armenia's plan to abolish Summer Time can wait until it has ceased being a plan and become reality. As with Arthur's last update, any changes needed for Russia are deferred, mostly because I haven't been able to fathom what those changes need to be... (I wasn't paying that much attention to all the messages about this, as I didn't expect any of that to directly affect me - if someone who knows what is happening could send a proposed diff, that would help). One proposal that Arthur, Paul, and I had kicked around a little (very little) off list that might affect things there, was to abandon attempts to invent new time zone abbreviations for places that don't have one already in use, and instead just insert LST as a place holder (Local Standard/Summer Time). Anywhere that cares what the abbreviation is can have their preferred abbreviation, as always, other places, where we had been inventing strings just because we thought it was a good idea, will get LST instead. There was no plan to go back and change all the currently established invented abbreviations though, or not unless there's a request to remove a particularly poor choice, if we have any of those. And yes, we know that LST already exists with another interpretation (which can remain), we don't care. None of this is in this update, so feel free to express opinions on the advisability of adopting this policy for future new zones. The tzdata diff follows. I plan on releasing this next Monday (October 10) if there are no detected problems (and will almost certainly release whatever part of this is correct then). Note that I life in a timezone far east of Arthur, his Monday updates got to me on my Tuesday, so my Monday update will get to many of you on your Sunday.... kre *** asia 2011/10/07 06:09:10 1.1 --- asia 2011/10/07 06:54:28 *************** *** 2269,2275 **** 2:00 Palestine EE%sT 2011 Apr 1 12:01 2:00 1:00 EEST 2011 Aug 1 2:00 - EET 2011 Aug 30 ! 2:00 1:00 EEST 2011 Oct 3 3:00 2:00 - EET # Paracel Is --- 2269,2275 ---- 2:00 Palestine EE%sT 2011 Apr 1 12:01 2:00 1:00 EEST 2011 Aug 1 2:00 - EET 2011 Aug 30 ! 2:00 1:00 EEST 2011 Sep 30 3:00 2:00 - EET # Paracel Is *** australasia 2011/10/07 06:09:10 1.1 --- australasia 2011/10/07 06:21:11 *************** *** 303,308 **** --- 303,310 ---- Rule Fiji 2010 only - Mar lastSun 3:00 0 - Rule Fiji 2010 only - Oct 24 2:00 1:00 S Rule Fiji 2011 only - Mar Sun>=1 3:00 0 - + Rule Fiji 2011 only - Oct 23 2:00 1:00 S + Rule Fiji 2012 only - Feb 26 3:00 0 - # Zone NAME GMTOFF RULES FORMAT [UNTIL] Zone Pacific/Fiji 11:53:40 - LMT 1915 Oct 26 # Suva 12:00 Fiji FJ%sT # Fiji Time *** northamerica 2011/10/07 06:09:10 1.1 --- northamerica 2011/10/07 06:13:35 *************** *** 483,489 **** -8:00 US P%sT 1983 Oct 30 2:00 -9:00 US Y%sT 1983 Nov 30 -9:00 US AK%sT ! Zone America/Sitka -14:58:47 - LMT 1867 Oct 18 -9:01:13 - LMT 1900 Aug 20 12:00 -8:00 - PST 1942 -8:00 US P%sT 1946 --- 483,489 ---- -8:00 US P%sT 1983 Oct 30 2:00 -9:00 US Y%sT 1983 Nov 30 -9:00 US AK%sT ! Zone America/Sitka 14:58:47 - LMT 1867 Oct 18 -9:01:13 - LMT 1900 Aug 20 12:00 -8:00 - PST 1942 -8:00 US P%sT 1946 *** southamerica 2011/10/07 06:09:10 1.1 --- southamerica 2011/10/07 06:36:20 *************** *** 1034,1040 **** # of America/Salvador. Zone America/Bahia -2:34:04 - LMT 1914 -3:00 Brazil BR%sT 2003 Sep 24 ! -3:00 - BRT # # Goias (GO), Distrito Federal (DF), Minas Gerais (MG), # Espirito Santo (ES), Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Sao Paulo (SP), Parana (PR), --- 1034,1041 ---- # of America/Salvador. Zone America/Bahia -2:34:04 - LMT 1914 -3:00 Brazil BR%sT 2003 Sep 24 ! -3:00 - BRT 2011 Oct 16 ! -3:00 Brazil BR%sT # # Goias (GO), Distrito Federal (DF), Minas Gerais (MG), # Espirito Santo (ES), Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Sao Paulo (SP), Parana (PR),

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Irish time...
by Kevin Lyda Oct. 17, 2011

Oct. 17, 2011

The first entry in the europe zone file for Ireland is as follows: Rule GB-Eire 1916 only - May 21 2:00s 1:00 BST However I don't think it's correct. I'm not sure how far back we want to go, but apparently from 1880 up until October, 1916, Dublin was 25 minutes off from London. When the clocks were set back in October 1916, they were set back 35 minutes - which would seem to cast doubt on the second line for GB-Eire: Rule GB-Eire 1916 only - Oct 1 2:00s 0 GMT And 25 minutes, as noted in the file was an oversimplification. A web page with more detail is here (I've cc'd Dave who might have more info): http://www.maths.tcd.ie/~dwmalone/time/dunsink.html And apparently there were places in Ireland observing the Dunsink based "Dublin Mean Time" up to the 1940s: http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0079/D.0079.194003050027.html In addition, Belfast seems to have had yet another timezone. How did the British actually manage to build an empire anyway? Kevin -- Kevin Lyda Dublin, Ireland US Citizen overseas? We can vote. Register now: http://www.votefromabroad.org/

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AP Article: Time zone database has new home after lawsuit
by Jonathan Leffler Oct. 17, 2011

Oct. 17, 2011

The URL I got was: http://my.earthlink.net/article/tec?guid=20111016/ec375dde-65b5-4564-abce-4… Time zone database has new home after lawsuit ANICK JESDANUN >From Associated Press October 16, 2011 7:35 PM EDT NEW YORK (AP) — The organization in charge of the Internet's address system is taking over a database widely used by computers and websites to keep track of time zones around the world. The transition to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, comes a week after the database was abruptly removed from a U.S. government server because of a federal lawsuit claiming copyright infringement. [...] ICANN accelerated those discussions and took over management Friday after the database was removed from NIH's server on Oct. 6, following a lawsuit over historical data used. Astrology software company Astrolabe Inc. argues that Olson and another volunteer at University of California, Los Angeles should have paid royalties for including data from its software. The defendants have insisted that the data are in the public domain and not subject to copyright. Their employers were not named as defendants. The federal lawsuit, filed Sept. 30 in Boston, does not affect current time zone information, which comes from tips sent by volunteers through an email list. However, ICANN is keeping the historical information in the database. "We are aware of the lawsuit," Davies said. "We believe it's important to continue the operation of the database. We'll deal with any legal matters as they arise." ___ Time zone database: http://www.iana.org/time-zones -- Jonathan Leffler <jonathan.leffler(a)gmail.com> #include <disclaimer.h> Guardian of DBD::Informix - v2011.0612 - http://dbi.perl.org "Blessed are we who can laugh at ourselves, for we shall never cease to be amused."

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ICANN to Manage Time Zone Database
by Marshall Eubanks Oct. 16, 2011

Oct. 16, 2011

FYI --------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:43:21 -0400 From: ICANN News Alert <communications(a)icann.org> Subject: ICANN News Alert -- ICANN to Manage Time Zone Database ICANN News Alert http://www.icann.org/en/news/releases/release-14oct11-en.pdf [PDF, 275 KB]

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Re: [tz] Astrolabe lawsuit update
by Gunther Vermeir Oct. 15, 2011

Oct. 15, 2011

sorry, that was one cc to many my apologies , no need to discuss this on the list itself Gunther ----- Original Message ----- From: gunther.vermeir(a)oracle.com To: valli108(a)gmail.com Cc: david(a)braverman.org, tz(a)iana.org Sent: Saturday, October 15, 2011 9:10:08 PM GMT +01:00 Amsterdam / Berlin / Bern / Rome / Stockholm / Vienna Subject: Re: [tz] Astrolabe lawsuit update Valli, even if I personally don't agree with your views on the world (i don't believe in / follow the idea of astrology) , I think David's "We aren't pissed at you because you're astrologers; we're pissed at you because you're stupid." remark quite nicely sums up the reaction I got from a lot of people I've talked to about this :) David, very nice write up, I must remember to not try to sip on a drink while reading things from you :) Gunther ----- Original Message ----- From: valli108(a)gmail.com To: david(a)braverman.org Cc: tz(a)iana.org Sent: Friday, October 14, 2011 6:51:35 PM GMT +01:00 Amsterdam / Berlin / Bern / Rome / Stockholm / Vienna Subject: Re: [tz] Astrolabe lawsuit update Thank you, David, for sharing both of these. I am a Vedic astrologer on this list, and I hugely respect the work of the Olson database community. Please know Astrolabe does NOT speak for all astrologers. While the Supreme Court in India has ruled that Vedic astrology is a science, I do realize not all on this list share that view, and I'm not looking to go "out of scope" with a discussion on that topic. However, if this case needs any testimonies from astrologers speaking up refuting Astrolabe, I'm happy to write something up. ADO has a great reputation for integrity, and this list has been very thoughtful for years. I do not see this case as "astrologers" vs. Olson database community. Valli On Fri, Oct 14, 2011 at 8:55 AM, David Braverman < david(a)braverman.org > wrote: Astrolabe, Inc., sent out a press release overnight: http://www.thedailyparker.com/CommentView,guid,bded3439-6019-4389-93a3-29af… And I responded, if anyone’s interested: http://www.thedailyparker.com/PermaLink,guid,103d30f9-4d58-4b72-9f5a-8db45e… I hope this isn’t out of scope for the list. I figured people might be interested in the latest developments in the case. David Braverman Weather Now -- "Unless you are a warrior, you will never succeed in life." ~ Dr. Pillai

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Re: [tz] Astrolabe lawsuit update
by Gunther Vermeir Oct. 15, 2011

Oct. 15, 2011

Valli, even if I personally don't agree with your views on the world (i don't believe in / follow the idea of astrology) , I think David's "We aren't pissed at you because you're astrologers; we're pissed at you because you're stupid." remark quite nicely sums up the reaction I got from a lot of people I've talked to about this :) David, very nice write up, I must remember to not try to sip on a drink while reading things from you :) Gunther ----- Original Message ----- From: valli108(a)gmail.com To: david(a)braverman.org Cc: tz(a)iana.org Sent: Friday, October 14, 2011 6:51:35 PM GMT +01:00 Amsterdam / Berlin / Bern / Rome / Stockholm / Vienna Subject: Re: [tz] Astrolabe lawsuit update Thank you, David, for sharing both of these. I am a Vedic astrologer on this list, and I hugely respect the work of the Olson database community. Please know Astrolabe does NOT speak for all astrologers. While the Supreme Court in India has ruled that Vedic astrology is a science, I do realize not all on this list share that view, and I'm not looking to go "out of scope" with a discussion on that topic. However, if this case needs any testimonies from astrologers speaking up refuting Astrolabe, I'm happy to write something up. ADO has a great reputation for integrity, and this list has been very thoughtful for years. I do not see this case as "astrologers" vs. Olson database community. Valli On Fri, Oct 14, 2011 at 8:55 AM, David Braverman < david(a)braverman.org > wrote: Astrolabe, Inc., sent out a press release overnight: http://www.thedailyparker.com/CommentView,guid,bded3439-6019-4389-93a3-29af… And I responded, if anyone’s interested: http://www.thedailyparker.com/PermaLink,guid,103d30f9-4d58-4b72-9f5a-8db45e… I hope this isn’t out of scope for the list. I figured people might be interested in the latest developments in the case. David Braverman Weather Now -- "Unless you are a warrior, you will never succeed in life." ~ Dr. Pillai

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ICANN News Alert - ICANN to Manage Time Zone Database
by dr.hingston Oct. 15, 2011

Oct. 15, 2011

I don't think this has been notified to the list? On 30 September Astrolabe Inc filed action for alleged copyright infringement against the voluntary maintainers of the TZ database. Details at: www.scribd.com/doc/67760407/ASTROLABE-INC-Vs-ARTHUR-DAVID-OLSON-and-PAUL-EGG ERT-Complaint ICANN has just released the following statement at: www.icann.org/en/news/releases/release-14oct11-en.pdf ICANN to Manage Time Zone Database The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) today took over operation of an Internet Time Zone Database that is used by a number of major computer systems. ICANN agreed to manage the database after receiving a request from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The database contains time zone code and data that computer programs and operating systems such as Unix, Linux, Java, and Oracle rely on to determine the correct time for a given location. Modifications to the database occur frequently throughout the year. "The time zone database is used by a large number of commercial operating systems and the software applications," said Russ Housely, chairman of the IETF. "Incorrect time zone information will impact many everyday activities, including meeting and conference call coordination, airplane and train schedules, physical package delivery notices, and astronomical observatories." For nearly three decades, the TZ Database had been maintained by a group of dedicated volunteers, in particular, Arthur David Olson at the US National Institutes of Health. Olson coordinated the group, managed the data, and created a platform for their release. Olson's announced retirement prompted the IETF to turn to ICANN to ensure continued operation of the database. "The Time Zone Database provides an essential service on the Internet and keeping it operational falls within ICANN's mission of maintaining a stable and dependable Internet," said Akram Atallah, ICANN's Chief Operating Officer. <end>

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Re: [tz] LST
by Robert Elz Oct. 15, 2011

Oct. 15, 2011

Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:10:31 -0400 From: Tim Parenti <tim(a)timtimeonline.com> Message-ID: <CAFpi07yBJVqZxgFSzqOoKTLPb2m67NiH_LPCBifGT3J8hMrzsw(a)mail.gmail.com> | "LST" seems too like the other "meaningful" identifiers that people may try | to continue to infer meaning from it. And ... Jaakko Hyvätti <jaakko.hyvatti(a)foreca.com> said: | LOC or LOCAL would be least confusing I think. A couple of other suggestions I have been sent off list: LCT (Local Clock Time) which has the advantages of LST (most of the advantages I like in that one, but without the name clash - which personally I see as a deficit of LCT!) NIL or nil as an alternative for NONE or none while remaining 3 characters long (which is a minor advantage, but we already have zones with longer abbreviations, so ...) These are thrown into the pot for consideration. There is no current urgency to come to a conclusion on this that I'm aware of, so we can treat it as a back-burner topic. But please everyone, keep in mind that debating names is easy, everyone can have an opinion, as there's usually no right answer (sometimes some wrong answers, but not often one obviously right answer). kre

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Re: [tz] LST
by Tim Parenti Oct. 14, 2011

Oct. 14, 2011

On Thu, Oct 13, 2011 at 23:29, Robert Elz <kre(a)munnari.oz.au> wrote: > | Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I believe most robust implementations of > the TZ > | database already have some way of expressing an offset in this way. > > That isn't the issue. What is of interest for this topic, is what the > tz database (and code) should put in the tzname[] array &/or tm_zone field > of the struct tm. > ... > > So, using -04:00 just isn't an option, sorry. > That was precisely my point. While a numeric offset would be meaningful, it's place is simply *not* in the abbreviation designation, for programmatic and practical reasons. On Fri, Oct 14, 2011 at 06:29, Zefram <zefram(a)fysh.org> wrote: > FWIW, the POSIX standard for $TZ allows ASCII letters (of either case), > digits, "+", and "-" in the abbreviation, and requires the abbreviation > to be at least three characters long. > "LST" seems too like the other "meaningful" identifiers that people may try to continue to infer meaning from it. Could we perhaps just use the string "local" for these "non-meaningful" cases, and avoid abbreviations altogether? This all-lowercase string conforms to the POSIX standard as described and would also serve to *clearly* disambiguate from other identifiers like "UTC", while not having to deal with contrived abbreviations. -- Tim Parenti

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mktime() during the the DST gap
by christos＠zoulas.com Oct. 14, 2011

Oct. 14, 2011

I am sure that this has been discussed before, but I think that if we decide to keep the current behavior, we should document it in the manual page explicitly. As you probably know calling mktime() in during the DST gap with tm_isdst == -1, returns -1 in this tzcode() implementation. The glibc one at least, adds the difference between the non-DST and the DST time. Both behaviors are justifyable. - We are returning -1 because this time cannot be represented. - We are returning the time you meant, since you cannot easily fix it by yourself by deducing the dst offset. I am suggesting that we explicitly document the chosen behavior in the manual page and if we choose to return -1, we set errno which is currently not set. I have appended a patch that changes the behavior to return the closest time as glibc does (if we choose to do that) as well as a test program that demonstrates that mktime() fails and does not set errno now. christos ------------- #include <stdio.h> #include <unistd.h> #include <err.h> #include <time.h> int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { struct tm tm; time_t t; setenv("TZ", "America/New_York"); memset(&tm, 0, sizeof(tm)); tm.tm_hour = 2; tm.tm_min = 30; tm.tm_mday = 14; tm.tm_mon = 2; tm.tm_year = 110; tm.tm_isdst = -1; t = mktime(&tm); if (t == -1) err(1, "mktime"); printf("%s", ctime(&t)); return 0; } ------------------- diff -u -r1.8 localtime.c --- localtime.c 14 Dec 2010 19:08:54 -0000 1.8 +++ localtime.c 14 Oct 2011 15:17:58 -0000 @@ -1787,6 +1787,25 @@ return WRONG; --hi; } + if (lo - 1 == hi && yourtm.tm_isdst < 0) { + time_t off = 0; + for (i = sp->typecnt - 1; i >= 0; --i) { + for (j = sp->typecnt - 1; j >= 0; --j) { + if (sp->ttis[j].tt_isdst == + sp->ttis[i].tt_isdst) + continue; + off = sp->ttis[j].tt_gmtoff - + sp->ttis[i].tt_gmtoff; + break; + } + if (j >= 0) + break; + } + if (off) { + t = hi + off; + break; + } + } if (lo > hi) return WRONG; if (dir > 0)

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A history maintaining repository for tzdata
by Kevin Lyda Oct. 14, 2011

Oct. 14, 2011

I note that some others have created some repositories for tzdata, but I'd really like to see the history of what Paul and Arthur have done be maintained. Commits that have useful commit messages and "correct" dates. To that end I've created the following repository (I stuck it on two hosters as I saw there were concerns about github on the list): https://github.com/lyda/tzdata https://gitorious.org/tzdata The README file explains how the import was done and what might need to be fixed: https://github.com/lyda/tzdata/blob/master/README https://gitorious.org/tzdata/tzdata/blobs/master/README If people want me to recreate it differently I'm happy to do so. It takes about a minute to build from scratch. The git repo is only 1.5M BTW so if someone wants to setup private hosting it really won't take up much room or bandwidth. If people like this I'm happy to do the same for tzcode. Kevin PS It would amuse me if the tz project had one of the oldest git commits on github/gitorious/wherever: https://github.com/lyda/tzdata/commit/dcf9a59f640d3e24745b36a9b5593add336a0… -- Kevin Lyda Dublin, Ireland US Citizen overseas? We can vote. Register now: http://www.votefromabroad.org/

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archive completeness
by Zefram Oct. 14, 2011

Oct. 14, 2011

For the benefit of those looking to complete the oldtz archive, I've checked the entire mailing list archive for release announcements. I used <http://mm.icann.org/pipermail/tz/> for 1986 to 2010, and <http://news.gmane.org/gmane.comp.time.tz> for 2011. In this combination I believe they're a complete archive of the mailing lists, <tz(a)elsie.nci.nih.gov> and <tz(a)iana.org>, from inception on 1986-11-25 up to the present 2011-10-11. I extracted all the information from the archives today, 2011-10-11. I have some confidence that this is a complete list of the announcements on the mailing lists, because I grepped specifically for ones that seemed to be missing. (Did find a few that I'd missed on the first pass.) There are, however, some releases that were not announced, ranging from tz92b up to tzdata2011f. There are various other irregularities. This listing incorporates corrections that were made on the list, and obvious typo fixes. The dates given are the UT date of the announcement message (the original one, if later corrected) as reported by the archive. All announcements up to 2011k were by Arthur David Olson. I'd like to see someone expand this into a systematic list of all releases actually made. The mailing list contains a few mentions of releases that were not announced at the time, but I have no confidence that this would catch all unannounced releases. 1992-04-25 tz92.tar.Z only 1992-11-21 tz92c.tar.Z only 1993-01-08 tzcode93.tar.Z tzdata93.tar.Z 1993-02-02 tzdata93b.tar.Z only 1993-06-06 tzcode93c.tar.Z tzdata93c.tar.Z 1993-07-18 tzcode93d.tar.Z tzdata93d.tar.Z 1993-09-06 tzcode93e.tar.Z tzdata93e.tar.Z 1993-10-15 tzcode93f.tar.Z tzdata93f.tar.Z 1993-11-29 tzcode93g.tar.gz tzdata93g.tar.gz 1994-02-03 tzdata94a.tar.gz only 1994-02-07 tzcode94b.tar.gz tzdata94b.tar.gz 1994-02-10 tzcode94c.tar.gz only 1994-02-24 tzcode94d.tar.gz tzdata94d.tar.gz 1994-03-31 tzcode94e.tar.gz only 1994-05-05 tzcode94f.tar.gz only 1994-05-05 tzcode94g.tar.gz only 1994-07-04 tzdata94e.tar.gz only 1994-08-20 tzdata94f.tar.gz only 1994-12-10 tzcode94h.tar.gz tzdata94h.tar.gz 1995-03-11 tzcode95b.tar.gz tzdata95b.tar.gz 1995-03-13 tzcode95c.tar.gz only 1995-07-02 tzdata95c.tar.gz only 1995-07-03 tzdata95d.tar.gz only 1995-07-08 tzdata95e.tar.gz only 1995-08-29 tzdata95f.tar.gz only 1995-09-01 tzdata95g.tar.gz only 1995-09-14 tzcode95d.tar.gz only 1995-09-21 tzdata95h.tar.gz only 1995-09-26 tzdata95i.tar.gz only 1995-10-13 tzcode95e.tar.gz only 1995-10-28 tzcode95f.tar.gz tzdata95j.tar.gz 1995-10-30 tzcode95g.tar.gz tzdata95k.tar.gz 1995-12-19 tzcode95h.tar.gz tzdata95l.tar.gz 1995-12-21 tzcode95i.tar.gz tzdata95m.tar.gz 1996-01-06 tzcode96a.tar.gz tzdata96a.tar.gz 1996-01-11 tzcode96b.tar.gz only 1996-01-16 tzcode96c.tar.gz only 1996-01-27 tzdata96b.tar.gz only 1996-02-12 tzcode96d.tar.gz tzdata96c.tar.gz 1996-02-29 tzcode96e.tar.gz only 1996-03-19 tzdata96d.tar.gz only 1996-03-19 tzdata96e.tar.gz only 1996-04-19 tzdata96f.tar.gz only 1996-05-03 tzcode96f.tar.gz tzdata96g.tar.gz 1996-05-09 tzdata96h.tar.gz only 1996-05-16 tzcode96g.tar.gz only 1996-06-05 tzcode96h.tar.gz only 1996-07-01 tzdata96i.tar.gz only 1996-07-28 tzcode96i.tar.gz only 1996-07-30 tzcode96j.tar.gz only 1996-09-08 tzcode96k.tar.gz tzdata96k.tar.gz 1996-09-08 tzcode96l.tar.gz only 1996-11-05 tzcode1996m.tar.gz tzdata1996l.tar.gz 1996-11-24 tzdata1996m.tar.gz only 1996-12-16 tzcode1996n.tar.gz only 1996-12-28 tzcode1996o.tar.gz tzdata1996n.tar.gz 1997-01-21 tzcode1997a.tar.gz tzdata1997a.tar.gz 1997-02-27 tzcode1997b.tar.gz tzdata1997b.tar.gz 1997-03-04 tzdata1997c.tar.gz only 1997-03-08 tzcode1997c.tar.gz tzdata1997d.tar.gz 1997-03-29 tzcode1997d.tar.gz tzdata1997e.tar.gz 1997-05-03 tzcode1997e.tar.gz tzdata1997f.tar.gz 1997-07-19 tzcode1997f.tar.gz tzdata1997g.tar.gz 1997-09-04 tzcode1997g.tar.gz tzdata1997h.tar.gz 1997-10-07 tzdata1997i.tar.gz only 1997-12-18 tzcode1997h.tar.gz tzdata1997j.tar.gz 1997-12-29 tzcode1997i.tar.gz tzdata1997k.tar.gz 1998-01-13 tzcode1998a.tar.gz tzdata1998a.tar.gz 1998-01-17 tzcode1998b.tar.gz tzdata1998b.tar.gz 1998-02-28 tzcode1998c.tar.gz tzcode1998c.tar.gz 1998-05-14 tzcode1998d.tar.gz tzdata1998d.tar.gz 1998-05-28 tzcode1998e.tar.gz tzdata1998e.tar.gz 1998-06-01 tzcode1998f.tar.gz only 1998-07-20 tzdata1998f.tar.gz only 1998-08-11 tzdata1998g.tar.gz only 1998-09-24 tzcode1998g.tar.gz tzdata1998h.tar.gz 1998-10-01 tzcode1998h.tar.gz tzdata1998i.tar.gz 1999-01-19 tzcode1999a.tar.gz tzdata1999a.tar.gz 1999-02-01 tzcode1999b.tar.gz tzdata1999b.tar.gz 1999-03-25 tzcode1999c.tar.gz tzdata1999c.tar.gz 1999-03-30 tzcode1999d.tar.gz tzdata1999d.tar.gz 1999-08-17 tzcode1999e.tar.gz tzdata1999e.tar.gz 1999-09-23 tzcode1999f.tar.gz tzdata1999f.tar.gz 1999-09-28 tzcode1999g.tar.gz tzdata1999g.tar.gz 1999-10-07 tzdata1999h.tar.gz only 1999-11-08 tzcode1999h.tar.gz tzdata1999i.tar.gz 1999-11-16 tzcode1999i.tar.gz tzdata1999j.tar.gz 2000-01-18 tzcode2000a.tar.gz tzdata2000a.tar.gz 2000-02-21 tzcode2000b.tar.gz tzdata2000b.tar.gz 2000-03-04 tzcode2000c.tar.gz tzdata2000c.tar.gz 2000-03-14 tzdata2000d.tar.gz only 2000-04-20 tzcode2000d.tar.gz only 2000-07-31 tzcode2000e.tar.gz tzdata2000e.tar.gz 2000-08-10 tzcode2000f.tar.gz tzdata2000f.tar.gz 2000-10-10 tzcode2000g.tar.gz tzdata2000g.tar.gz 2000-12-14 tzcode2000h.tar.gz tzdata2000h.tar.gz 2001-03-13 tzcode2001a.tar.gz tzdata2001a.tar.gz 2001-04-05 tzcode2001b.tar.gz tzdata2001b.tar.gz 2001-06-05 tzcode2001c.tar.gz tzdata2001c.tar.gz 2001-10-09 tzcode2001d.tar.gz tzdata2001d.tar.gz 2002-01-28 tzcode2002a.tar tzdata2002a.tar 2002-01-28 tzcode2002b.tar.gz tzdata2002b.tar.gz 2002-04-04 tzcode2002c.tar.gz tzdata2002c.tar.gz 2002-10-15 tzcode2002d.tar.gz tzdata2002d.tar.gz 2003-03-24 tzcode2003a.tar.gz tzdata2003a.tar.gz 2003-09-16 tzcode2003b.tar.gz tzdata2003b.tar.gz 2003-09-16 tzcode2003c.tar.gz tzdata2003c.tar.gz 2003-10-06 tzcode2003d.tar.gz tzdata2003d.tar.gz 2003-12-15 tzcode2003e.tar.gz tzdata2003e.tar.gz 2004-05-27 tzcode2004a.tar.gz tzdata2004a.tar.gz 2004-07-19 tzcode2004b.tar.gz tzdata2004b.tar.gz 2004-08-11 tzcode2004c.tar.gz only 2004-09-22 tzdata2004d.tar.gz only 2004-09-13 tzcode2004d.tar.gz only 2004-10-11 tzcode2004e.tar.gz tzdata2004e.tar.gz 2004-10-21 tzcode2004f.tar.gz only 2004-11-02 tzcode2004g.tar.gz tzdata2004g.tar.gz 2004-12-07 tzcode2004h.tar.gz only 2004-12-14 tzcode2004i.tar.gz only 2005-01-01 tzcode2005a.tar.gz tzdata2005a.tar.gz 2005-01-10 tzcode2005b.tar.gz tzdata2005b.tar.gz 2005-01-17 tzcode2005c.tar.gz tzdata2005c.tar.gz 2005-01-31 tzcode2005d.tar.gz only 2005-02-10 tzcode2005e.tar.gz tzdata2005e.tar.gz 2005-03-01 tzcode2005f.tar.gz tzdata2005f.tar.gz 2005-03-14 tzcode2005g.tar.gz tzdata2005g.tar.gz 2005-04-04 tzcode2005h.tar.gz tzdata2005h.tar.gz 2005-04-21 tzdata2005i.tar.gz only 2005-06-13 tzcode2005j.tar.gz tzdata2005j.tar.gz 2005-07-14 tzcode2005k.tar.gz tzdata2005k.tar.gz 2005-08-22 tzcode2005l.tar.gz tzdata2005l.tar.gz 2005-08-29 tzcode2005m.tar.gz tzdata2005m.tar.gz 2005-10-03 tzcode2005n.tar.gz tzdata2005n.tar.gz 2005-11-28 tzcode2005o.tar.gz tzdata2005o.tar.gz 2005-12-05 tzcode2005p.tar.gz tzdata2005p.tar.gz 2005-12-13 tzcode2005q.tar.gz tzdata2005q.tar.gz 2005-12-27 tzcode2005r.tar.gz tzdata2005r.tar.gz 2006-01-30 tzcode2006a.tar.gz tzdata2006a.tar.gz 2006-02-20 tzdata2006b.tar.gz tz32code2006b.tar.gz tz64code2006b.tar.gz 2006-04-03 tzcode2006c.tar.gz tzdata2006c.tar.gz 2006-04-17 tzcode2006d.tar.gz tzdata2006d.tar.gz 2006-05-01 tzcode2006e.tar.gz tzdata2006e.tar.gz 2006-05-01 tzcode2006f.tar.gz tzdata2006f.tar.gz 2006-05-08 tzcode2006g.tar.gz tzdata2006g.tar.gz 2006-07-24 tzcode2006h.tar.gz only 2006-08-07 tzcode2006i.tar.gz only 2006-08-21 tzcode2006j.tar.gz tzdata2006j.tar.gz 2006-08-28 tzcode2006k.tar.gz tzdata2006k.tar.gz 2006-09-18 tzdata2006l.tar.gz only 2006-10-02 tzcode2006m.tar.gz tzdata2006m.tar.gz 2006-10-10 tzcode2006n.tar.gz tzdata2006n.tar.gz 2006-11-06 tzcode2006o.tar.gz tzdata2006o.tar.gz 2006-11-27 tzcode2006p.tar.gz tzdata2006p.tar.gz 2007-01-08 tzcode2007a.tar.gz tzdata2007a.tar.gz 2007-02-12 tzcode2007b.tar.gz tzdata2007b.tar.gz 2007-02-26 tzcode2007c.tar.gz tzdata2007c.tar.gz 2007-03-20 tzcode2007d.tar.gz tzdata2007d.tar.gz 2007-04-02 tzcode2007e.tar.gz tzdata2007e.tar.gz 2007-05-07 tzcode2007f.tar.gz tzdata2007f.tar.gz 2007-08-20 tzcode2007g.tar.gz tzdata2007g.tar.gz 2007-10-01 tzcode2007h.tar.gz tzdata2007h.tar.gz 2007-11-01 tzdata2007i.tar.gz only 2007-12-03 tzcode2007j.tar.gz tzdata2007j.tar.gz 2007-12-31 tzcode2007k.tar.gz tzdata2007k.tar.gz 2008-03-08 tzcode2008a.tar.gz tzdata2008a.tar.gz 2008-03-24 tzdata2008b.tar.gz only 2008-05-27 tzdata2008c.tar.gz only 2008-07-07 tzdata2008d.tar.gz only 2008-07-28 tzcode2008e.tar.gz tzdata2008e.tar.gz 2008-09-15 tzdata2008f.tar.gz only 2008-10-06 tzcode2008g.tar.gz tzdata2008g.tar.gz 2008-10-13 tzcode2008h.tar.gz tzdata2008h.tar.gz 2008-10-27 tzdata2008i.tar.gz only 2009-01-21 tzcode2009a.tar.gz tzdata2009a.tar.gz 2009-02-09 tzcode2009b.tar.gz tzdata2009b.tar.gz 2009-03-16 tzdata2009c.tar.gz only 2009-03-23 tzcode2009d.tar.gz tzdata2009d.tar.gz 2009-04-06 tzcode2009e.tar.gz tzdata2009e.tar.gz 2009-04-13 tzdata2009f.tar.gz only 2009-04-27 tzdata2009g.tar.gz only 2009-05-26 tzcode2009h.tar.gz tzdata2009h.tar.gz 2009-07-08 tzcode2009i.tar.gz tzdata2009i.tar.gz 2009-07-18 tzdata2009j.tar.gz only 2009-07-20 tzcode2009k.tar.gz tzdata2009k.tar.gz 2009-08-17 tzdata2009l.tar.gz only 2009-09-08 tzdata2009m.tar.gz only 2009-09-28 tzdata2009n.tar.gz only 2009-10-19 tzdata2009o.tar.gz only 2009-10-26 tzdata2009p.tar.gz only 2009-11-02 tzcode2009q.tar.gz tzdata2009q.tar.gz 2009-11-09 tzcode2009r.tar.gz tzdata2009r.tar.gz 2009-11-16 tzdata2009s.tar.gz only 2009-12-21 tzcode2009t.tar.gz tzdata2009t.tar.gz 2009-12-28 tzdata2009u.tar.gz only 2010-01-18 tzdata2010a.tar.gz only 2010-01-25 tzdata2010b.tar.gz only 2010-02-16 tzcode2010a.tar.gz only 2010-03-01 tzcode2010c.tar.gz tzdata2010c.tar.gz 2010-03-08 tzdata2010d.tar.gz only 2010-03-08 tzdata2010e.tar.gz only 2010-03-22 tzcode2010f.tar.gz tzdata2010f.tar.gz 2010-03-29 tzdata2010g.tar.gz only 2010-04-05 tzdata2010h.tar.gz only 2010-04-19 tzdata2010i.tar.gz only 2010-05-10 tzcode2010j.tar.gz tzdata2010j.tar.gz 2010-07-26 tzcode2010k.tar.gz tzdata2010k.tar.gz 2010-08-16 tzcode2010l.tar.gz tzdata2010l.tar.gz 2010-09-27 tzcode2010m.tar.gz tzdata2010m.tar.gz 2010-10-25 tzcode2010n.tar.gz tzdata2010n.tar.gz 2010-11-01 tzdata2010o.tar.gz only 2011-01-24 tzcode2011a.tar.gz tzdata2011a.tar.gz 2011-02-07 tzcode2011b.tar.gz tzdata2011b.tar.gz 2011-03-07 tzcode2011c.tar.gz tzdata2011c.tar.gz 2011-03-14 tzcode2011d.tar.gz tzdata2011d.tar.gz 2011-04-01 tzcode2011e.tar.gz tzdata2011e.tar.gz 2011-04-25 tzcode2011g.tar.gz tzdata2011g.tar.gz 2011-06-27 tzdata2011h.tar.gz only 2011-08-29 tzcode2011i.tar.gz tzdata2011i.tar.gz 2011-09-12 tzdata2011j.tar.gz only 2011-09-26 tzdata2011k.tar.gz only 2011-10-10 tzdata2011l.tar.gz only -zefram

5 5

Fixing make check output...
by Kevin Lyda Oct. 13, 2011

Oct. 13, 2011

To get make check to run on Ubuntu, I had to do the following: apt-get install w3-recs sp cp -a /usr/share/doc/w3-recs/html/www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-html401-19991224 . find REC-html401-19991224 -name '*.gz' -print0 | xargs -0 gunzip I then copied the command make check wanted to run and tweaked it like so: SGML_CATALOG_FILES=HTML4.cat SGML_SEARCH_PATH=REC-html401-19991224/ SP_CHARSET_FIXED=YES SP_ENCODING=UTF-8 nsgmls -s -B -wall -wno-unused-param tz-art.htm tz-link.htm I'm not really sure what tz-art.htm is for, but this is the diff required to make it actually pass... diff --git a/tz-art.htm b/tz-art.htmindex 902371e..f3064ee 100644--- a/tz-art.htm+++ b/tz-art.htm@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ Supernaw.</td></tr> <tr><td>ID</td><td>272</td></tr> <tr><td>Total Time</td><td>73:05</td></tr> <tr><td>Notes</td><td>Includes the song "Twilight Time Zone."</td></tr>-<tr><td><a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:w9fpxzykldje">AMG Ra+<tr><td><a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:w9fpxzykldje">AM <tr><td>ADO Rating</td><td>2 stars</td></tr> <tr><td> </td></tr>@@ -224,7 +224,7 @@ Supernaw.</td></tr> <tr><td>Label</td><td>Columbia</td></tr> <tr><td>ID</td><td>CK-8905</td></tr> <tr><td>Total Time</td><td>45:36</td></tr>-<tr><td><a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gifqxqt5ld0e">AMG Ra+<tr><td><a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gifqxqt5ld0e">AM <tr><td>ADO Rating</td><td>1.5 stars</td></tr> <tr><td>Notes<td>The title song is also available on "Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits" and <tr><td> </td></tr>@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ Supernaw.</td></tr> <tr><td>Label</td><td>Universal Jazz France</td></tr> <tr><td>ID</td><td>B0012688-02</td></tr> <tr><td>Total Time</td><td>42:31</td></tr>-<tr><td><a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3bftxzw0ldhe"</a>AMG+<tr><td><a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3bftxzw0ldhe">AM <tr><td>ADO Rating</td><td>2.5 stars</td></tr> <tr><td>Notes<td>Includes the song "Fire and Wood" with the lyric "The clocks were turned back you remeber/Think it's still November." -- Kevin Lyda Dublin, Ireland US Citizen overseas? We can vote. Register now: http://www.votefromabroad.org/

1 0

32 municipalities in Mato Grosso, Brazil not to observe DST
by Steffen Thorsen Oct. 13, 2011

Oct. 13, 2011

According to many news sources, 32 municipalities in Mato Grosso will change their clocks for DST the coming weekend, so this will split Mato Grosso into two different zones. One example: http://www.redenergia.com/concessionarias/noticias/5476/Concessionarias-Ger… Biggest city we could find among them was Barra do Garças. Our view of it: http://www.timeanddate.com/news/time/brazil-time-changes-2011.html Best regards, Steffen Thorsen - timeanddate.com

1 0

400-year-repeat edge cases
by Zefram Oct. 12, 2011

Oct. 12, 2011

For tzfile readers that make use of the 400-year cycle where a rule can't be expressed in POSIX-TZ form, I'm concerned that going exactly 400 years beyond the last rule change isn't sufficient. The year at the start of that cycle, the year that would otherwise have been the last one mentioned in the tzfile, might be contaminated by one-shot rules, making it an invalid example of the cyclical rules. Also, the transitions included for the last year of the cycle don't adequately delimit the whole cycle. I propose to avoid these edge problems by adding an extra two years of explicit observations when listing 400 years of the future. One extra year would probably suffice; two certainly does, and allows for conservative tzfile readers to drop poorly-delimited observations at the ends. Think of them as telomeres. Attached patch implements. This affects about six of the tzfiles. (Between five and seven, depending on which of my previous patches you applied.) They mostly get 36 bytes longer. -zefram

1 0

FW: missing extension rules
by Olson, Arthur David (NIH/NCI) [E] Oct. 12, 2011

Oct. 12, 2011

I'm forwarding this message from Zefram; since sending it, Zefram has subscribed to the time zone mailing list. --ado -----Original Message----- From: Zefram [mailto:zefram@fysh.org] Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 6:10 To: tz(a)lecserver.nci.nih.gov Subject: missing extension rules I've found a problem with the tzfiles for Africa/Cairo and America/Argentina/San_Luis. They both show a last known transition in the recent past, and surprisingly lack a POSIX-TZ-format rule for extending the zone into the future. My tzfile parser treats a zone with no extension rule as being undefined for any time following the last explicit transition, so for these two zones it reckons the zone is undefined for the present. In the source files they're each currently configured to observe a set of DST rules, and the ruleset has no transitions configured for the future. So for the present and foreseeable future, the zone is on a constant offset with no DST transitions. The tzfile reflects that by showing no transitions from the present up to 2038 (where zic always fills in a complete set of expected transitions). It should be trivial to also reflect that foreseen behaviour in a POSIX-TZ string that just gives a fixed offset and no DST rule. For example, Africa/Cairo should clearly have "EET-2". I could have a go at a zic patch to fix this, if the regular zic hackers would like to work that way. For America/Argentina/San_Luis there's an extra wrinkle: the last known transition is a transition *to* DST. Its fixed-offset foreseeable behaviour therefore has a fixed is_dst=1, which is moderately silly. It's arguable that in this case it would be incorrect to give a "WARST3" extension rule, because that doesn't accurately express the DST status. Since that DST transition was in 2009, it's also a good bet that they haven't stayed continuously on DST since then, of course. -zefram

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