February 2008 - tz - lists.iana.org

proposed tz change for Latvia, Lithuania
by Paul Eggert 25 May '15

25 May '15

It's March Madness time for daylight-saving rule changes. Here's a proposed change to the tz database to keep up with the latest political development, which affects time stamps starting March 29: * Latvia and Lithuania will not observe DST, starting this year. Thanks to Andrei Ivanov for this info. =================================================================== RCS file: RCS/europe,v retrieving revision 2000.3 retrieving revision 2000.3.0.1 diff -pu -r2000.3 -r2000.3.0.1 --- europe 2000/03/04 15:31:08 2000.3 +++ europe 2000/03/08 17:48:59 2000.3.0.1 @@ -1135,6 +1135,12 @@ Link Europe/Rome Europe/San_Marino # 1997-01-21 on transition to Summer time ... established the same order of # daylight savings time settings as in the States of the European Union. +# From Andrei Ivanov (2000-03-06): +# This year Latvia will not switch to Daylight Savings Time (as specified in +# <a href="http://www.lv-laiks.lv/wwwraksti/2000/071072/vd4.htm"> +# The Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Rep. of Latvia of +# 29-Feb-2000 (#79)</a>, in Latvian for subscribers only). + # Rule NAME FROM TO TYPE IN ON AT SAVE LETTER/S Rule Latvia 1989 1996 - Mar lastSun 2:00s 1:00 S Rule Latvia 1989 1996 - Sep lastSun 2:00s 0 - @@ -1151,7 +1157,8 @@ Zone Europe/Riga 1:36:24 - LMT 1880 3:00 Russia MSK/MSD 1989 Mar lastSun 2:00s 2:00 1:00 EEST 1989 Sep lastSun 2:00s 2:00 Latvia EE%sT 1997 Jan 21 - 2:00 EU EE%sT + 2:00 EU EE%sT 2000 Feb 29 + 2:00 - EET # Liechtenstein # Zone NAME GMTOFF RULES FORMAT [UNTIL] @@ -1178,6 +1185,11 @@ Zone Europe/Vaduz 0:38:04 - LMT 1894 Jun # motion to give up shifting to summer time in spring, as it was # already done by Estonia. +# From Andrei Ivanov (2000-03-06): +# I've heard that Ministers of three Baltic countries on their summit +# somewhere in February decided not to switch to summer time starting from +# this spring. + # Zone NAME GMTOFF RULES FORMAT [UNTIL] Zone Europe/Vilnius 1:41:16 - LMT 1880 1:24:00 - WMT 1917 # Warsaw Mean Time @@ -1192,7 +1204,8 @@ Zone Europe/Vilnius 1:41:16 - LMT 1880 2:00 C-Eur EE%sT 1998 2:00 - EET 1998 Mar 29 1:00u 1:00 EU CE%sT 1999 Oct 31 1:00u - 2:00 EU EE%sT + 2:00 EU EE%sT 2000 Feb + 2:00 - EET # Luxembourg # Whitman disagrees with most of these dates in minor ways; go with Shanks.

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Tomsk wrong timezone
by Jesper Norgaard Welen 18 Feb '11

18 Feb '11

A quote from the 'europe' file: # Novosibirskaya oblast'. Zone Asia/Novosibirsk 5:31:40 - LMT 1919 Dec 14 6:00 6:00 - NOVT 1930 Jun 21 # Novosibirsk Time 7:00 Russia NOV%sT 1991 Mar 31 2:00s 6:00 Russia NOV%sT 1992 Jan 19 2:00s 7:00 Russia NOV%sT 1993 May 23 # say Shanks & P. 6:00 Russia NOV%sT # # From Oscar van Vlijmen (2001-08-25): [This region consists of] # Kemerovskaya oblast', Krasnoyarskij kraj, # Tajmyrskij (Dolgano-Nenetskij) avtonomnyj okrug, Tomskaya oblast', # Respublika Tuva, Respublika Khakasiya, Evenkijskij avtonomnyj okrug. Zone Asia/Krasnoyarsk 6:11:20 - LMT 1920 Jan 6 6:00 - KRAT 1930 Jun 21 # Krasnoyarsk Time 7:00 Russia KRA%sT 1991 Mar 31 2:00s 6:00 Russia KRA%sT 1992 Jan 19 2:00s 7:00 Russia KRA%sT In fact, it seems that Tomsk city and Tomskaya oblast' is part of the Novosibirsk timezone, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomskaya_Oblast%27%2C_Russia and http://www.admin.tomsk.ru/1024 ... the latter, if you don't understand russian, look at the time under the green horse. I don't know if this simply means that Tomskaya oblast' changed timezone since 2001, which is a possibility, that would then require a new timezone. Regards, - Jesper Jesper Nørgaard Welen Email: jnorgard(a)Prodigy.Net.mx Project Leader (Líder de Proyecto) Software CIMMYT - Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo Dirección: CIMMYT Int. c/o Jesper Nørgaard Km. 45, Carretera México-Veracruz El Batán Texcoco, Edo. de México CP 56130 MEXICO Tel.: +52 (55) 58-04-20-04 ext. 1374 Fax: +52 (55) 58-04-75-58 Tel. Casa: 53-10-05-95 ó 53-10-97-78 Download the shareware program World Time Explorer, I made: http://www.worldtimeexplorer.com/index.html

3 2

Chinese timezones 1970
by Jesper Norgaard Welen 14 Sep '08

14 Sep '08

I have investigated the timezones around 1970 on the http://www.astro.com/atlas site, and here are the results. I am attaching a GIF file of the map I have built based on this information. The red borders are the modern-time administrative borders, while the green lines are the timezone borders I have determined, note that some of them are partially hidden behind the red lines. There are no big surprises. Most timezones follow modern-day administrative boundaries, with the exceptions being Xinjiang, Xizang (Tibet), Qinghai, Gansu, Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia) and Guangdong. There was an exception in Heliongjiang region on GMT+8.5 where the northern-most county Mohe is on GMT+8. A few other exceptions were two counties on the Sichuan side of the Xizang - Sichuan border, counties Dege and Baiyu which lies on the Sichuan side and are therefore supposed to be GMT+7, Xizang region being GMT+6, but Dege county is GMT+8 according to astro.com while Baiyu county is GMT+6 (could be true), for the moment I am assuming that those two counties are mistakes in the astro.com data. The biggest surprise was that region Guangdong were dived in 3 timezones, a south/west part on GMT+6 (counties Xuwen, Haikang, Suixi, Lianjiang, Zhanjiang, Wuchuan, Huazhou, Gaozhou, Maoming, Dianbai, Xinyi) a central part on GMT+7 (counties Yangchun, Yangjiang, Taishan, Kaiping, Xinxing, Luoding, Yu'nan, Yunfu, Taishan, Deqing and Enping) and a north/east part on GMT+8 with the rest of the counties. Zone Asia/Harbin on GMT+8.5: regions Heilongjiang (minus Mohe) and Jilin. Zone Asia/Shanghai on GMT+8: regions east Nei Mongol, Liaoning, Hebei + Beijing, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian, north/east Guangdong and Mohe county of Heilongjiang. Zone Asia/Chongqing on GMT+7: regions west Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, east Gansu, west Qinghai, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Yunnan, Hainan island and the central part of Guangdong province. Zone Asia/Urumqi on GMT+6: regions east Xinjiang, west Gansu (counties Dunhuang, Aksay, Anxi, Subei), west Qinghai, east Xizang (Tibet) and east Guangdong. Zone Asia/Kashgar on GMT+5: regions west Xinjiang, west Xizang. Regards, - Jesper Jesper Nørgaard Welen Email: jnorgard(a)Prodigy.Net.mx Project Leader (Líder de Proyecto) Software CIMMYT - Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo Dirección: CIMMYT Int. c/o Jesper Nørgaard Km. 45, Carretera México-Veracruz El Batán Texcoco, Edo. de México CP 56130 MEXICO Tel.: +52 (55) 58-04-20-04 ext. 1374 Fax: +52 (55) 58-04-75-58 Tel. Casa: 53-10-05-95 ó 53-10-97-78 Download the shareware program World Time Explorer, I made: http://www.worldtimeexplorer.com/index.html

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Proposed changes for Argentina, tzfile.5, and strerror
by Arthur David Olson 31 Mar '08

31 Mar '08

Here are proposed changes to the time zone package: 1. Most importantly, changes to the "southamerica" file (combinining material from Jesper Norgaard Welen and Paul Eggert) to reflect Argentina's readoption of daylight saving time. 2. Jonathan Leffler's fixes to tzfile.5. 3. Changes to eliminate HAVE_STRERROR and the conditional strerror definition. (A safe change since it should have no run-time effects; we'll see if anybody complains about uncompilability). Barring problems these changes are to show up on the ftp site on Monday morning as usual, just in time to be late for the Argentina party. --ado ------- southamerica ------- *** /tmp/geta2179 Thu Dec 27 12:24:03 2007 --- /tmp/getb2179 Thu Dec 27 12:24:03 2007 *************** *** 1,4 **** ! # @(#)southamerica 8.13 # <pre> # This data is by no means authoritative; if you think you know better, --- 1,4 ---- ! # @(#)southamerica 8.14 # <pre> # This data is by no means authoritative; if you think you know better, *************** *** 106,111 **** --- 106,123 ---- # from the International Date Line. Rule Arg 1999 only - Oct Sun>=1 0:00 1:00 S Rule Arg 2000 only - Mar Sun>=1 0:00 0 - + # From Jesper Norgaard Welen (2007-12-26) + # The last hurdle of Argentina DST is over, the proposal was approved in + # the lower chamber too (Deputados) with a vote 192 for and 2 against. + # By the way thanks to Mariano Absatz and Daniel Mario Vega for the link to + # the original scanned proposal, where the dates and the zero hours are + # clear and unambiguous...This is the article about final approval: + # <a href="http://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/nota.asp?nota_id=973996"> + # http://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/nota.asp?nota_id=973996 + # </a> + Rule Arg 2007 only - Dec 30 0:00 1:00 S + Rule Arg 2008 max - Mar Sun>=15 0:00 0 - + Rule Arg 2008 max - Oct Sun>=1 0:00 1:00 S # # From Peter Gradelski via Steffen Thorsen (2000-03-01): # We just checked with our Sao Paulo office and they say the government of ------- tzfile.5 ------- *** /tmp/geta2215 Thu Dec 27 12:27:17 2007 --- /tmp/getb2215 Thu Dec 27 12:27:17 2007 *************** *** 57,63 **** described in the file is associated with the same-indexed transition time. These values serve as indices into an array of .I ttinfo ! structures that appears next in the file; these structures are defined as follows: .in +.5i .sp --- 57,65 ---- described in the file is associated with the same-indexed transition time. These values serve as indices into an array of .I ttinfo ! structures (with ! .I tzh_typecnt ! entries) that appears next in the file; these structures are defined as follows: .in +.5i .sp *************** *** 138,144 **** the above header and data is followed by a second header and data, identical in format except that eight bytes are used for each transition time or leap second time. ! After the second header and data comes a newline-encloded, POSIX-TZ-environment-variable-style string for use in handling instants after the last transition time stored in the file (with nothing between the newlines if there is no POSIX representation for --- 140,146 ---- the above header and data is followed by a second header and data, identical in format except that eight bytes are used for each transition time or leap second time. ! After the second header and data comes a newline-enclosed, POSIX-TZ-environment-variable-style string for use in handling instants after the last transition time stored in the file (with nothing between the newlines if there is no POSIX representation for *************** *** 145,150 **** such instants). .SH SEE ALSO newctime(3) ! .\" @(#)tzfile.5 8.1 .\" This file is in the public domain, so clarified as of .\" 1996-06-05 by Arthur David Olson. --- 147,152 ---- such instants). .SH SEE ALSO newctime(3) ! .\" @(#)tzfile.5 8.2 .\" This file is in the public domain, so clarified as of .\" 1996-06-05 by Arthur David Olson. ------- Makefile ------- *** /tmp/geta2073 Thu Dec 27 12:14:33 2007 --- /tmp/getb2073 Thu Dec 27 12:14:33 2007 *************** *** 1,4 **** ! # @(#)Makefile 8.5 # Change the line below for your time zone (after finding the zone you want in # the time zone files, or adding it to a time zone file). --- 1,4 ---- ! # @(#)Makefile 8.6 # Change the line below for your time zone (after finding the zone you want in # the time zone files, or adding it to a time zone file). *************** *** 95,101 **** # -DHAVE_SETTIMEOFDAY=2 if settimeofday uses 2nd arg (4.3BSD) # -DHAVE_SETTIMEOFDAY=3 if settimeofday ignores 2nd arg (4.4BSD) # -DHAVE_STDINT_H=1 if you have a pre-C99 compiler with "stdint.h" - # -DHAVE_STRERROR=0 if your system lacks the strerror function # -DHAVE_SYMLINK=0 if your system lacks the symlink function # -DHAVE_SYS_STAT_H=0 if your compiler lacks a "sys/stat.h" # -DHAVE_SYS_WAIT_H=0 if your compiler lacks a "sys/wait.h" --- 95,100 ---- ------- private.h ------- *** /tmp/geta2092 Thu Dec 27 12:14:41 2007 --- /tmp/getb2092 Thu Dec 27 12:14:41 2007 *************** *** 21,27 **** #ifndef lint #ifndef NOID ! static char privatehid[] = "@(#)private.h 8.5"; #endif /* !defined NOID */ #endif /* !defined lint */ --- 21,27 ---- #ifndef lint #ifndef NOID ! static char privatehid[] = "@(#)private.h 8.6"; #endif /* !defined NOID */ #endif /* !defined lint */ *************** *** 48,57 **** #define HAVE_SETTIMEOFDAY 3 #endif /* !defined HAVE_SETTIMEOFDAY */ - #ifndef HAVE_STRERROR - #define HAVE_STRERROR 1 - #endif /* !defined HAVE_STRERROR */ - #ifndef HAVE_SYMLINK #define HAVE_SYMLINK 1 #endif /* !defined HAVE_SYMLINK */ --- 48,53 ---- ------- zic.c ------- *** /tmp/geta2111 Thu Dec 27 12:14:50 2007 --- /tmp/getb2111 Thu Dec 27 12:14:50 2007 *************** *** 3,9 **** ** 2006-07-17 by Arthur David Olson. */ ! static char elsieid[] = "@(#)zic.c 8.16"; #include "private.h" #include "locale.h" --- 3,9 ---- ** 2006-07-17 by Arthur David Olson. */ ! static char elsieid[] = "@(#)zic.c 8.17"; #include "private.h" #include "locale.h" *************** *** 160,169 **** static void writezone(const char * name, const char * string); static int yearistype(int year, const char * type); - #if !HAVE_STRERROR - static char * strerror(int); - #endif /* !HAVE_STRERROR */ - static int charcnt; static int errors; static const char * filename; --- 160,165 ---- *************** *** 405,423 **** ** Error handling. */ - #if !HAVE_STRERROR - static char * - strerror(errnum) - int errnum; - { - extern char * sys_errlist[]; - extern int sys_nerr; - - return (errnum > 0 && errnum <= sys_nerr) ? - sys_errlist[errnum] : _("Unknown system error"); - } - #endif /* !HAVE_STRERROR */ - static void eats(name, num, rname, rnum) const char * const name; --- 401,406 ----

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Chile extends DST due to drought
by Paul Eggert 07 Mar '08

07 Mar '08

The Associated Press reports that yesterday Chile announced it will extend DST this year due to a drought, until the last Saturday in March. Does anybody have details? Here's the URL I used for the AP report (though it may not work for you: AP Google URLs are unreliable in my experience): http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gvriCVJJJ0RYvhGDq06v1nEykPDgD8ULKSI80 Without further info, I guess I would assume that DST will end in Chile and in Easter Island on March 30 at 03:00 UTC.

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FW: Time Zone abbreviations - request
by Olson, Arthur David (NIH/NCI) [E] 25 Feb '08

25 Feb '08

I'm forwarding this message from Ilya Stein, who is not on the time zone mailing list. Those of you who are on the time mailing list, please direct replies appropriately. --ado -----Original Message----- From: Ilya.Shtein(a)metavante.com [mailto:Ilya.Shtein@metavante.com] Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 5:59 To: tz(a)lecserver.nci.nih.gov Cc: Troy.Bradley(a)metavante.com Subject: Time Zone abbreviations - request Hello, Our company is in need for standard abbreviations that would map one-to-one to the names used in the Olson database. These abbreviations must be as short as possible and significantly shorter than the conventional Olson names. We can definitely come up with our own abbreviations, but I am wondering if any such abbreviations exist in the Olson db. This is important because we want to be able to point our external partners to a source they are already familiar with, rather than invent something homegrown and impose it on our partners. If such abbreviations do not exist, is it possible to create them? We think it will be beneficial for many users who have space limitations and can't use the Olson names "as is", but need access to the functionality. We are willing to create such list, work with the keepers of the Olson DB to make it official, and maintain the list if needed. One possible implementation could consist of two parts: 1) a two-letter ocean/continent abbreviation: Africa Af America Am Antarctica An Arctic Ar Asia As Atlantic At Australia Au Europe Eu Indian In Mideast Me Pacific Pa Miscellaneous <no abbreviation> 2) an abbreviation of the city name; we haven't done any research yet of how many letters are needed, but something like a standard airport code could be used here, perhaps with 1-2 additional characters for additional information (for example, Riyadh87 would be RUH87). We are very interested in getting the answer as soon as possible. Thank you, ----------------------------------------- Ilya Shtein Enterprise Software Architecture Metavante Technologies ilya.shtein(a)metavante.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- This message contains confidential and proprietary information of the sender, and is intended only for the person(s) to whom it is addressed. Any use, distribution, copying or disclosure by any other person is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the e-mail sender immediately, and delete the original message without making a copy.

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Time Zone abbreviations - request
by Ilya.Shtein＠metavante.com 20 Feb '08

20 Feb '08

Hello, Our company is in need for standard abbreviations that would map one-to-one to the names used in the Olson database. These abbreviations must be as short as possible and significantly shorter than the conventional Olson names. We can definitely come up with our own abbreviations, but I am wondering if any such abbreviations exist in the Olson db. This is important because we want to be able to point our external partners to a source they are already familiar with, rather than invent something homegrown and impose it on our partners. If such abbreviations do not exist, is it possible to create them? We think it will be beneficial for many users who have space limitations and can't use the Olson names "as is", but need access to the functionality. We are willing to create such list, work with the keepers of the Olson DB to make it official, and maintain the list if needed. One possible implementation could consist of two parts: 1) a two-letter ocean/continent abbreviation: Africa Af America Am Antarctica An Arctic Ar Asia As Atlantic At Australia Au Europe Eu Indian In Mideast Me Pacific Pa Miscellaneous <no abbreviation> 2) an abbreviation of the city name; we haven't done any research yet of how many letters are needed, but something like a standard airport code could be used here, perhaps with 1-2 additional characters for additional information (for example, Riyadh87 would be RUH87). We are very interested in getting the answer as soon as possible. Thank you, ----------------------------------------- Ilya Shtein Enterprise Software Architecture Metavante Technologies ilya.shtein(a)metavante.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- This message contains confidential and proprietary information of the sender, and is intended only for the person(s) to whom it is addressed. Any use, distribution, copying or disclosure by any other person is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the e-mail sender immediately, and delete the original message without making a copy.

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TZ
by Andrew Novick 19 Feb '08

19 Feb '08

Hello, I am Andrew Novick from the NIST Time and Frequency Division. Although we are not an official source for time zones, we do use time zone data for our higher uncertainty time dissemination methods, like the www.time.gov web site. We have been talking to the DOT and GPO about TZ standards. I have not waded through the TZarchive completely, but can you give me a primer on it's reference sources and intent? One of your current interests is whether or not it is imperative to keep 3-letter TZ designations. With zones like Chamorro, Hawaii-Aleutian and Alaska, many sources have used 4-letter designations. Thanks! Andrew Novick NIST novick(a)nist.gov 303-497-3378

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Withdraw logwtmp.c from time zone distribution?
by Olson, Arthur David (NIH/NCI) [E] 15 Feb '08

15 Feb '08

The file "logwtmp.c" is part of the time zone package to ensure that a "date" command can be compiled. The time zone Makefile notes that: # We use the system's logwtmp in preference to ours if available. Well then: are there any systems out there today that need the time zone package's version of logwtmp.c? If there aren't, we can drop logwtmp.c from the package. If there are, we need to provide compile-time control over whether time stamps written to the log file are four bytes (to be compatible with historic practice) or eight bytes (the emerging width of time stamps). --ado

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FW: FW: when did China adopt one time zone?
by Olson, Arthur David (NIH/NCI) [E] 11 Feb '08

11 Feb '08

I'm forwarding this message from Thomas S. Mullaney, who is not on the time zone mailing list. Those of you who are on the time zone mailing list should direct replies appropriately. --ado -----Original Message----- From: Thomas S. Mullaney [mailto:tsmullaney@stanford.edu] Sent: Monday, February 11, 2008 3:50 To: tz(a)lecserver.nci.nih.gov Cc: tz(a)lecserver.nci.nih.gov Subject: Re: FW: when did China adopt one time zone? I think you're combining two subjects that need to treated separately: daylight savings (which, you're correct, wasn't implemented until the 1980s) and the unified time zone centered near Beijing (which was implemented in 1949). Briefly, there was also a "Lhasa Time" in Tibet and "Urumqi Time" in Xinjiang. The first was ceased, and the second eventually recognized (again, in the 1980s). At 11:50 AM -0800 2/11/08, Paul Eggert wrote: > > From: Thomas S. Mullaney [mailto:tsmullaney@stanford.edu] >> Sent: Friday, February 08, 2008 3:55 > >> This is a project I started thinking about this past summer - a >> fascinating topic, no? > >Yes, quite addictive.... > >Perhaps there is a confusion between two different topics here. The >tz database is mostly concerned with the actual clock settings; it >doesn't record (except in comments) whether the time zone is called >"Beijing Time" or "Beiping Time" or something else. Historically, >Beijing Time (under whatever name) covered just part of the territory >of China; the question the tz database is concerned with is when this >was expanded to include the whole country. You can find a map of the >old "Beiping Time" (perhaps "Chungyuan Time" is a better name) zone in ><http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_China>. What's missing is when >that time zone expanded to included the whole country. > >I just now checked Google News for western news sources that talk >about China's single time zone, and couldn't find anything before 1986 >talking about China being in one time zone. (That article was: Jim >Mann, "A clumsy embrace for another western custom: China on daylight >time--sort of", Los Angeles Times, 1986-05-05. By the way, this >article confirms the tz database's data claiming that China began >observing daylight saving time in 1986.) > >Obviously this simple search isn't conclusive, as it doesn't include >reliable Chinese sources; still, it is not at all clear from the data >mentioned above that China switched to a single time zone in 1949. -- --- Thomas S. Mullaney Assistant Professor Modern Chinese History Department of History Stanford University 450 Serra Mall, Bld 200 Stanford, CA 94305-2024 T (650) 736-8386 F (650) 725-0597

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