- tz - lists.iana.org

Obtaining offset given location string (via library call?)
by Clark C . Evans July 3, 2002

July 3, 2002

Hello. I'm looking for a "C" function I can call (ideally from Python, but I can write a wrapper) which returns for me the current offset from UTC given one of the location strings, such as "Australia/Sydney". Any ideas? I was very hopeful with "zdump" however what I need is the offset (yes, I could probably hack the offset from the output of zdump) and further, I'd rather not have to start a new process to obtain this information, thus having it in library form would be perfect. Thank you so much! Clark

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FW: National Imagery and Mapping Agency
by Olson, Arthur David (NCI) June 28, 2002

June 28, 2002

Daniel F. Howard is not on the time zone mailing list; direct replies appropriately. --ado -----Original Message----- From: Howard, Daniel F. [mailto:HowardDF@nima.mil] Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2002 1:49 PM To: 'tz(a)elsie.nci.nih.gov' Subject: National Imagery and Mapping Agency FYI- Recieved report from Hydrographic and Oceanographic service of the Navy of Chile Official time zone changes as follows: saturday March 9, 2002 At 2400 Official Continental Chile and Chiean and Anartic Territory adjust clocks to 2300, adopting ZT+4. Same day AT 2200 Official time of Western Insular Chile, adjust clocks to 2100, adopting ZT+6. Daniel Howard 301-227-3180 NIMA

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Question concerning Daylight Saving Time in the Bahamas
by John Griswold June 23, 2002

June 23, 2002

Hi,, I have been reading the Daylight Saving Time tables (at http://stat.tamu.edu/ftp/usr/share/lib/zoneinfo/northamerica) that are on the internet and saw your email address. I am doing some research on the Bahamas. Am I correct in my reading of the tables for North America that the Bahamas were not observing Daylight Saving Time in 1959? It seems that the table is saying that the Bahamas did not observe it until 1964. Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated. I have also sent this message to Paul Eggert, but I don't know if he is still working on this Daylight Saving Time table project. Thank you, John Griswold

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FW: Time zone equality?
by Olson, Arthur David (NCI) June 21, 2002

June 21, 2002

Kerry Kimbrough is not on the time zone mailing list; direct replies appropriately. --ado -----Original Message----- From: Kerry Kimbrough [mailto:kkimbrough@clearcommerce.com] Sent: Friday, June 21, 2002 10:57 AM To: 'tz(a)elsie.nci.nih.gov' Subject: Time zone equality? Help! Can someone explain the algorithm for TimeZone::operator==? That is, how do you know if two time zones are the same or different? I'm motivated by a UI design issue that's become hot around here. We allow users to select a time zone from a list. In our case, the list come from the ICU package, which I understand uses the same list as the Olsen package. Trouble is, this list is huge and bewildering, with a great deal of apparent redundancy. For example, there are 37 different time zones listed at GMT-04:00. This makes for a usability issue, as it becomes hard to search and confidently select the correct choice. And many are convinced that the long is just wrong because they can see a much shorter one used in Windows. We want to generate a shorter list, but we're also reluctant to just throw out legitimate choices. If two time zones are equivalent, then it's OK to drop one from the list. But how can you tell? How does Windows do it? ---- Regards, Kerry

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Time zone equality?
by Kerry Kimbrough June 21, 2002

June 21, 2002

Help! Can someone explain the algorithm for TimeZone::operator==? That is, how do you know if two time zones are the same or different? I'm motivated by a UI design issue that's become hot around here. We allow users to select a time zone from a list. In our case, the list come from the ICU package, which I understand uses the same list as the Olsen package. Trouble is, this list is huge and bewildering, with a great deal of apparent redundancy. For example, there are 37 different time zones listed at GMT-04:00. This makes for a usability issue, as it becomes hard to search and confidently select the correct choice. And many are convinced that the long is just wrong because they can see a much shorter one used in Windows. We want to generate a shorter list, but we're also reluctant to just throw out legitimate choices. If two time zones are equivalent, then it's OK to drop one from the list. But how can you tell? How does Windows do it? ---- Regards, Kerry

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Fw: HORA DE VERANO EN LA REPUBLICA ARGENTINA.
by Astrix Zodiac May 30, 2002

May 30, 2002

HORA DE VERANO EN LA REPUBLICA ARGENTINA Hello Alois and Paul Eggert... Well, I have very much work this last months - the opossition Saturn-Pluto is in me X house - and because this I not look very much the problem with time zones in Argentina... Dra. Urbina send to me ine or two weeks ago this document almost precise about this topic, but is in spanish... But is possible Alois you have some person to know Spanish and Paul also... If is a problem, I will attempt to translate, but I not have very much time... One thing is sure, the summer time between 1975 to 1987 (both inclusive) not exist in nothing part of argentina, in this all the astrologers in argentina have total coincidence... And this document below is almost very precise, is a document of a good astrological institute in Buenos Aires... Also you have the official document send by Dra. Urbina months ago... Well Alois and Paul, very thanks and sorry for the delay in answer to you and also me english is not very good... Good day and if any question or thing, let me know... Best regards... Javier Reinoso.... Document of the Astrological Institute Orion - Buenos Aires - Argentina: ----- Original Message ----- From: Dra. Urbina To: Javier Reinoso Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2002 3:44 AM Subject: HORA DE VERANO EN LA REPUBLICA ARGENTINA. Hola Javier: Nosotros vamos al Instituto naval, y otros lo publican. Pero nosotros tenemos hastael recibo. Un beso Bijou. HORA DE VERANO EN LA REPUBLICA ARGENTINA. El primer decreto nacional que uniformó la hora en la Argentina data del 25 de setiembre de 1894. Por eso, todas las horas de nacimientos y acontecimientos registradas con anterioridad a esta fecha deben ser tomadas con suma cautela, dada la anarquía imperante en cuanto a su registro. Siempre cabe la duda en cuanto a su autenticidad, especialmente en el interior del país, y es prudente aceptar al hora indicada como local media con una aproximación de media hora más o menos. Esto obedece a los siguientes hechos: a) La hora local casi nunca pudo tomarse con verdadera exactitud por falta de instrumentos apropiados de medición como así también de habilidad para su manejo. b) Antes del advenimiento de los ferrocarriles y de los telégrafos, los relojes debían marcar, en teoría, la hora local del lugar, pero en los pueblos la gente solía ajustarla según la del relojero más cercano. A menudo el reloj d este discrepaba con el d su colega en otra parte del pueblo. c) Quienes vivían en lugares apartados se valían de la hora deducida "a ojo" de la posición del Sol o cuadrantes solares o bien ajustaban sus relojes con los de ocasionales viajeros que paseaban por el lugar. Estos, a su vez, habían regulado el suyo de acuerdo con la hora del lugar de partida. d) A partir del advenimiento de los ferrocarriles y telégrafos, y durante el gradual período de su instauración, los pueblos que se encontraban cerca de las estaciones ponían sus relojes de acuerdo a la hora de los trenes que por allí pasaban. Pero ésta, a su vez, se regulaba por la de la estación de partida o la estación terminal, según cual fuese la más cercana. De este modo, en las principales ciudades hubo hasta tres horas distintas, todas en uso para cierto sector de la población: la hora de Buenos Aires, que rigió en virtud de las vías férreas que partían de aquella ciudad; la hora de Córdoba, vigente para todos los telégrafos de la Nación y en varias líneas férreas, y, por último, la hora local. Como, por ejemplo, la diferencia horaria entre Buenos Aires y Córdoba alcanza a 23m. 18s., resultaba que en una reunión de varias personas con relojes que marchaban regularmente podía haber diferencias de hasta media hora. Por otra parte, como hasta 1871 no existieron observatorios astronómicos en nuestro suelo, era casi imposible tomar con exactitud el tiempo medio. El resultado era que todas las ciudades argentinas ponían la hora arbitrariamente. Un principio de orden dentro de esta anarquía empezó a notarse recién en 1891 cuando, por primera vez, el Concejo Deliberante del Municipio de Rosario sancionó, el 13 de octubre de ese año, una ordenanza declarando hora legal de ese municipio el tiempo medio de la ciudad de Córdoba. Siguió a esta importante iniciativa la sanción de la ley provincial de fecha 9 de noviembre de 1892 que fijó como hora legal para todo el territorio de la provincia de Santa Fe el tiempo medio del meridiano del Observatorio de Córdoba. A partir de esta fecha las demás provincias fueron adoptando poco a poco la misma pauta para medir el tiempo. Fueron pasos previos que condujeron a la adopción general de esa hora. Bajo la presidencia de Luis Sáenz Peña se sancionó un decreto que ordenaba a todas las oficinas nacionales regirse, a partir del 1° de noviembre de 1894, por la hora del meridiano del Observatorio Nacional de Córdoba. (Tablas de Casas Astrológicas de W. Polich y A.P. Nelson Page) HUSOS HORARIOS +4hs. 16m. 48,25 s oeste. Desde las 0 horas del 31.10.1894. +4hs. desde las 0 horas del 1.05.1920. Rigió el huso de+ 3hs a partir de la 0 hs. en los períodos siguientes: 01.12.1930 al 31.03.1931 inclusive 15.10.1931 al 29.02.1932 inclusive 01.11.1932 al 28.02.1933 inclusive 01.11.1933 al 28.02.1934 inclusive 01.11.1934 al 28.02.1935 inclusive 01.11.1935 al 29.02.1936 inclusive 01.11.1936 al 28.02.1937 inclusive 01.11.1937 al 28.02.1938 inclusive 01.11.1938 al 28.02.1939 inclusive 01.11.1939 al 29.02.1940 inclusive 01.07.1940 al 14.06.1941 inclusive 15.10.1941 al 31.07.1943 inclusive 15.10.1943 al 28.02.1946 inclusive 01.10.1946 al 30.09.1963 inclusive 15.12.1963 al 29.02.1964 inclusive 15.10.1964 al 28.02.1965 inclusive 15.10.1965 al 28.02.1966 inclusive 15.10.1966 al 01.04.1967 inclusive 01.10.1967 al 06.04.1968 inclusive 06.10.1968 al 05.04.1969 inclusive DOBLE HORA DE VERANO + 2 hs a partir de la 0 hs. 1) 23.01.1974 al 30.4.1974. A las 24 horas se atrasaron los relojes una hora. 2) 01.12.-1988 al 04.03.1989 inclusive. A las 24 horas de este último día se atrasaron los relojes una hora. 3) 15.10.1989 al 03.03.1990 inclusive. A las 24 horas se atrasaron los relojes una hora. 4) 21.10.1990 al 2.3.1991 inclusive 5) 20.10.1991 al 29.02.1992 inclusive 6) 18.10.1992 al 06.03.1993 inclusive SITUACION PARTICULAR 21.10.1990 al 02.03.1991 incl. : ver más abajo. HUSO DE +3 HORAS PARA TODO EL PAIS Desde 07.03.1993 hasta el presente (14.7.2000) no hubo cambios. En el período 21.10.1990 al 2.3.1991 las provincias de Mendoza, Catamarca y La Rioja no cambiaron a +2 hs es decir siguieron conservando el huso horario + 3 hs. En el período 18.10.92 al 07.03.93 tomaron uso horario + 2hs. Capital, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Jujuy, Santa Cruz y Tierra del Fuego, en cambio continuaron con + 3hs. Chaco, Córdoba, La Pampa, Santa Fé, La Rioja, Tucumán, San Luis, Entre Ríos, Misiones, Salta, Santiago del Estero, Río Negro, Formosa, Neuquen, San Juan, Chubut, Corrientes y Mendoza. Para mayor abundamiento y mejor control incluimos el siguiente documento que solo refleja los cambios a nivel nacional. Agradeceremos cualquier información no contenida aquí. HUSOS HORARIOS ADOPTADOS EN LA REPUBLICA ARGENTINA FUENTE: OBSERVATORIO NAVAL Antes del 25.11.1894 la hora era difundida localmente por Iglesias y entidades publicas. Desde el 25.11.1894 se fija como HORA OFICIAL la del meridiano del Observatorio de Córdoba +4h 16m 48,2s. A partir del 1.5.1920 el país se adhiere al SISTEMA INTERNACIONAL DE LA HORA, corrigiendo en adelante 16m 48,2s, quedando en el Huso Horario +4. Desde el 12.11.1923 asume la responsabilidad de la HORA OFICIAL el Observatorio Naval. Sigue a continuación la relación de los cambios de Huso establecidos por el Poder Ejecutivo. A las 0h del Huso Hasta las 24h del 01.05.1920 +4 30.11.1930 01.12.1930 +3 31.03.1931 01.04.1931 +4 14.10.1931 15.10.1931 +3 29.02.1932 01.03.1932 +4 31.10.1932 01.11.1932 +3 28.02.1933 01.03.1933 +4 31.10.1933 01.11.1933 +3 28.02.1934 01.03.1934 +4 31.10.1934 01.11.1934 +3 28.02.1935 01.03.1935 +4 31.10.1935 01.11.1935 +3 29.02.1936 01.03.1936 +4 31.10.1936 01.11.1936 +3 28.02.1937 01.03.1937 +4 31.10.1937 01.11.1937 +3 28.02.1938 01.03.1938 +4 31.10.1938 01.11.1938 +3 28.02.1939 01.03.1939 +4 31.10.1939 01.11.1939 +3 29.02.1940 01.03.1940 +4 30.06.1940 01.07.1940 +3 14.06.1941 15.06.1941 +4 14.10.1941 15.10.1941 +3 31.07.1943 01.08.1943 +4 14.10.1943 15.10.1943 +3 28.02.1946 01.03.1946 +4 30.09.1946 01.10.1946 +3 30.09.1963 01.10.1963 +4 14.12.1963 15.12.1963 +3 29.02.1964 01.03.1964 +4 14.10.1964 15.10.1964 +3 28.02.1965 01.03.1965 +4 14.10.1965 15.10.1965 +3 28.02.1966 01.03.1966 +4 14.10.1966 15.10.1966 +3 01.04.1967 02.04.1967 +4 30.09.1967 01.10.1967 +3 06.04.1968 07.04.1968 +4 05.10.1968 06.10.1968 +3 05.04.1969 06.04.1969 +4 04.10.1969 05.10.1969 +3 22.01.1974 23.01.1974 +2 30.04.1974 01.05.1974 +3 30.11.1988 01.12.1988 +2 04.03.1989 05.03.1989 +3 14.10.1989 15.10.1989 +2 03.03.1990 04.03.1990 +3 20.10.1990 21.10.1990 +2 02.03.1991 03.03.1991 +3 19.10.1991 20.10.1991 +2 29.02.1992 01.03.1992 +3 17.10.1992 18.10.1992 +2 06.03.1993 07.03.1993 +3 hasta el presente. El signo + indica la cantidad de horas a sumar a la Hora Oficial para tener la hora en "TIEMPO UNIVERSAL" (UT). El Huso Horario que le corresponde a la República Argentina por su situación geográfica es el de +4.El huso correspondiente es la franja que abarca desde el meridiano 52°30'oeste hasta el 67°30'oeste. INSTITUTO ASTROLOGICO ORION INSTITUTO ACADEMICO ORION

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Re: Name change for Macao?
by Paul Eggert May 29, 2002

May 29, 2002

> Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 14:58:47 -0700 (PDT) > From: Robbin Kawabata <robbin(a)sundew.eng.sun.com> > > ISO 3166-1 NEWSLETTER No. V-4 apparently changes the short Country > Name for MO from "Macau" to "Macao". > > So, should the Asia/Macau timezone be changed back to Asia/Macao? > Version 2002b introduced Asia/Macau. > > http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/prods-services/iso3166ma/03updates-on-iso-3166/nl v4e-div.html Google still says that "Macau" is far more popular than "Macao", so let's leave the names alone for now. Both names should work, so long as "backward" is installed. I noticed that Newsletter V-5 changed the country code for East Timor from TP to TL. I'll propagate that into zone.tab and iso3166.tab in my next proposed patch.

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IERS Message No. 27: IERS SINEX Combination Campaign
by central_bureau＠iers.org May 28, 2002

May 28, 2002

*************************************************************************** IERS Message No. 27 May 28, 2002 *************************************************************************** IERS SINEX Combination Campaign Call for Participation Objective: It is the intention of this campaign to combine 'weekly' solutions from SINEX files of different techniques with station coordinates and EOPs (and ICRF) and to assess systematic biases between the individual techniques. New combination strategies should be developed by the combination centres and the comparison of the different combined solutions should result in an improvement of strategies, modeling and parameterization. If appropriate combination methods are found, the combined 'weekly' solutions may serve in the future as the basis for routine EOP products and, as a long term goal, we can combine the 'weekly' solutions into 'multi-year' solutions including ITRF + EOP + ICRF, where the resulting ITRF and ICRF are used to produce fully consistent EOP series. The IERS SINEX Combination Campaign will be organized in two major steps: 1. Generation of solutions in SINEX (preferably 'weekly' solutions) for the year 1999 (or more) with station coordinates + EOP (+ ICRF) by the Analysis Centres of the individual techniques (Technique Centres) or other interested groups. 2. Testing and combination of the 'weekly' technique solutions by the IERS Combination Research Centres and other interested groups. Creation of a SINEX data pool (preparation step; done by the IERS Analysis Coordinator): A data pool with SINEX files of the year 1999 of different techniques is already established. It contains - 28-days SLR solutions of eleven ILRS Analysis Centres that originate from the ILRS pilot project 'positioning and earth orientation' - VLBI solutions of all 1999 sessions generated by GSFC and IAA - links to the weekly solutions of the seven IGS Analysis Centres of the appropriate weeks of the year 1999 - weekly DORIS solutions for the year 1999, produced as a joint effort of IGN and JPL - ITRF2000 for each technique - local ties (unfortunately not yet in SINEX format) This data pool is accessible to everybody via the web site of the IERS Analysis Coordinator http://alpha.fesg.tu-muenchen.de/iers/sinex/datapool.html and it will be extended with the solutions contributing to the IERS SINEX Combination Campaign. Generation of SINEX solutions (first step): In the first step of this campaign, the Technique Centres or other interested groups are asked to produce 'weekly' solutions for the year 1999 and deliver them in SINEX format to the IERS: - use ITRF2000 as terrestrial reference frame - do not use tight constraints (use either loose constraints or minimum constraints) - if you use constraints, please submit (free) SINEX solutions as well for testing purposes, to check whether the constraints are completely removable. Please respect the official format definition of SINEX, accessible via the web site of the IERS Analysis Coordinator as well: http://alpha.fesg.tu-muenchen.de/iers/ The submitted solutions will be archived in the SINEX data pool described above and made available to all participating groups for the second step. Combination of SINEX files (second step): The IERS Combination Research Centres and other interested groups test and combine these technique-specific SINEX solutions: - detection of systematic biases between techniques - test of different combination strategies - improvement of strategies, modeling and parameterization The first results may be presented at the IERS Combination Research Workshop in Munich in early November 2002. The presentation of final results and recommendations on strategies, modeling, standards, ... is planned for the EGS General Assembly in Nice 2003. If you are interested in producing and / or combining such SINEX files or contribute to this campaign in any another way, please fill out the attached call for participation form! You can either submit the form via email or you can send us a hardcopy (fax or mail). Please submit your proposal by June 15, 2002! Munich, 27.05.2002 Markus Rothacher, Daniela Thaller IERS Analysis Coordination --------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IERS SINEX Combination Campaign Call for Participation Form Recipient: IERS Central Bureau Bundesamt fuer Kartographie und Geodaesie Richard-Strauss-Allee 11 60598 Frankfurt am Main Germany fax: ++49-69-6333-425 email: central_bureau(a)iers.org or Markus Rothacher IERS Analysis Coordinator Forschungseinrichtung Satellitengeodaesie Technische Universitaet Muenchen Arcisstr. 21 80333 Muenchen Germany fax: ++49-89-289-23178 email: Markus.Rothacher(a)bv.tum.de Who is participating? Name (primary scientist): Organization or institute: Mailing address: Phone: Fax: Email: Cooperating organizations / institutes: Research associates: Generation of SINEX solutions (first step): Will you generate SINEX solutions? yes/no What type of SINEX solutions will you produce? Technique (VLBI, GPS, SLR, ...): Time span of all submitted solutions (the whole year 1999 or otherwise): Period covered by each single solution (weekly, monthly, ...): Reference frame used: Constraints used: Reference sites used: Description of solution: Analysis approach used: Comments on your solutions: Suggestions: Combination of SINEX files (second step): Are you interested in combining SINEX solutions? yes/no Proposed analysis (short description): Suggestions: Schedule Deadline for proposals: June 15, 2002 Envisaged deadline for submission of SINEX files (preferably before August 15, 2002): For a more detailed description of your project you can attach your own proposal as file. Attachement: *************************************************************************** IERS Messages are edited and distributed by the IERS Central Bureau. To subscribe or unsubscribe, please write to <central_bureau(a)iers.org>. Archives: http://www.iers.org/iers/publications/messages/ ***************************************************************************

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UTC Questionnaire
by iers＠hpopa.obspm.fr May 27, 2002

May 27, 2002

Subject: Questionnaire regarding the use of UTC Dear colleague We are addressing the attached questionnaire to users of Bulletin C and/or D in order to survey opinion concerning a possible redefinition of UTC. UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) is computed from TAI by the introduction of leap seconds such that UTC is maintained within 1 second of UT1. Since 1972, these leap seconds have been added on December 31 or June 30, at the rate of about one every 18 months. The relevant bulletins are: > Bulletin C: Announcement of the leap seconds in UTC. > Bulletin D: Announcement of the value of DUT1 truncated at 0.1s for transmission with time signals. Recently, some communities linked to telecommunications and navigational systems have proposed a revision of the definition of UTC to avoid the discontinuities due to the intermittent leap seconds. The object of our survey is to find out the strength of opinion for maintaining or changing the present system within Bulletins C and D users. We would also like to know your interests and needs, current and future. I apologize if you receive this questionnaire twice. Thank you for devoting some of your time to this important topic. Daniel Gambis Head Earth Orientation Center of IERS ============================================================================= Please return this form by 30 June 2002 to the IERS Earth Orientation Center: iers(a)obspm.fr Thanks for your time and attention. Mark your answer with a X [X] and add any comments. 1 - Your identification Name : Institute: Adress : e-mail : 2 - Field of activity Time [ ] Telecommunication [ ] Astronomy/Astrophysics [ ] Geophysics [ ] Space sciences [ ] Geodesy [ ] Navigation [ ] Other? What? [ ] 3 - Are you satisfied by the current UTC determination method with leap second adjustements? YES [ ] NO [ ] 3-1 if YES Is the present forecast time (6 months in advance) of the occurence of a leap second sufficient. If not would you suggest another time delay? 1 year or more? 3-2 if NO Why ? 4 - Do you think it would be better to change the determination method of UTC? YES [ ] NO [ ] NO OPINION [ ] 4 -1 If YES, which alternative solution would you favour? a. No leap second [ ] a.1 UTC without further leap seconds [ ] a.2 Use TAI [ ] b. Increase tolerance for |UT1-UTC| [ ] c. Smooth over leap second step [ ] d. Redefine the second [ ] e. Some other possibility ? [ ] 4-2 If NO for 4, why? 5 - Other comments regarding the determination or operation of UTC? 6 - This question concerns Bulletin D users (DUT1 with 0.1s accuracy). Is the present Bulletin D appropriate ? YES [ ] NO [ ] If NO, why? If NO, would you prefer a more frequent and refined estimation? With what accuracy? END OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE

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IERS Message No. 26: SINEX Version 2.00
by central_bureau＠iers.org May 27, 2002

May 27, 2002

*************************************************************************** IERS Message No. 26 May 27, 2002 *************************************************************************** SINEX Version 2.00 Dear colleagues, After an intensive discussion about our proposed new format definition of SINEX, the final version SINEX 2.00 is available now. The detailed format description, a summary of the changes from version 1.00 to 2.00 and a summary of the important least squares adjustment formulas with their connection to the individual SINEX blocks are accessible via the web site of the IERS Analysis Coordination http://alpha.fesg.tu-muenchen.de/iers/ or via our ftp server ftp://alpha.fesg.tu-muenchen.de/iers/sinex/format/sinex_v2.txt A new format definition became necessary because different implementations of SINEX (originally for IGS purposes) existed from the ILRS and the IVS, and for the combination activities starting soon within the IERS (by the Combination Research Centres) a unique format definition for all space geodetic techniques is needed. All implementations were merged with the SINEX version 1.00 and were discussed intensively. We want to thank all people who were contributing to this discussion, especially the IGS Reference Frame Working Group chaired by Remi Ferland, the ILRS Analysis Coordinator Ron Noomen and the ILRS Analysis Working Group, the IVS Analysis Coordinator Axel Nothnagel and Zuheir Altamimi from the ITRF section of IGN. With their contributions and advice we created a SINEX format definition that is hopefully accepted by all Analysis Centres of each space geodetic technique. With best regards, Daniela Thaller, Markus Rothacher (IERS Analysis Coordination) *************************************************************************** IERS Messages are edited and distributed by the IERS Central Bureau. To subscribe or unsubscribe, please write to <central_bureau(a)iers.org>. Archives: http://www.iers.org/iers/publications/messages/ ***************************************************************************

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Correction to IERS Message No. 25
by central_bureau＠iers.org May 23, 2002

May 23, 2002

Please note that the correct address of the web site given in "1. General Introduction" is http://alpha.fesg.tu-muenchen.de/iers/ We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

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IERS Message No. 25: Summary of the IERS Combination Research Mee ting
by central_bureau＠iers.org May 22, 2002

May 22, 2002

*************************************************************************** IERS Message No. 25 May 22, 2002 *************************************************************************** Summary of the IERS Combination Research Meeting, April 25, 2002 Dear colleagues, Please find hereafter a short summary of the IERS Combination Research Meeting, held on April 25, 2002 during the EGS General Assembly in Nice, France. With best regards, Daniela Thaller ----------------------------------------- Daniela Thaller Forschungseinrichtung Satellitengeodaesie Technische Universitaet Muenchen Arcisstrasse 21 D-80290 Muenchen / Germany Phone : ++49-89-289-23186 Fax : ++49-89-289-23178 E-mail: daniela.thaller(a)bv.tum.de ----------------------------------------- IERS Combination Research Meeting April 25, 2002 EGS XXVII General Assembly 2002 Acropolis Conference Centre, Nice, France 1. General Introduction - short overview over the agenda for the meeting given by M. Rothacher - web sites: http://www.alpha.fesg.tu-muenchen.de - two different mailing lists for CRC purposes: crc_forum(a)iers.org (open for all people interested in CRC activities; most part of the mails) crc(a)iers.org (only for internal purposes) 2. IERS Products present status and future perspective of the IERS products given by M. Rothacher: - preliminary overview of present IERS products is finished, but feedback and supplementation from some of the IERS product centres is still missing. - completed overview will soon be accessible via the IERS web pages. 3. IERS ERP Alignment Campaign The IERS Analysis Campaign to align EOPs to ITRF2000 / ICRF is already started. M. Rothacher gave a short overview: - aim: more consistent products - two steps: 1. Generation of EOP series (deadline for the submission was March 15, 2002) 2. Analysis of EOP series (final results should be presented at the IERS Workshop in November 2002) - status of the campaign: 10 VLBI series, 16 GPS series, 6 SLR series and 1 DORIS series First results of an analysis of the contributing EOP series, done by R. Dill (FESG / Technical University Munich), presented by M. Rothacher. Comments: - long term goal: use SINEX format for exchange of solutions (incl. variance-covariance information). - many ERP format problems / inconsistencies; common ERP format should be used. - IVS pilot project EOP series (1999-2000) not yet included (comment: now, these series are included as well). - this analysis should not be mixed with routine processing for the official IERS products; ERP Alignment Campaign is only for research purposes. - until now no other groups have analyzed the available EOP series (reason: contributing data available only since March 2002), but more analysis is necessary. - results from the different analysis groups are expected at the IERS Workshop in November 2002. 4. SINEX Combination Campaign A second campaign for the implementation of new combination strategies will be started. - combination of "weekly" solutions of different techniques with station coordinates + EOP + (ICRF) - development of standards for common modeling and parameterization - combined "weekly" solutions as the basis for final routine EOP products - combined multi-year solution (ITRF + ICRF) as basis to produce fully consistent EOP series The actual status and future plan was given by M. Rothacher: - SINEX datapool is already created (accessible via web sites of IERS Analysis Coordinator) with - weekly GPS solutions from IGS Analysis Centres - 28-days solutions of the ILRS pilot project 'positioning and earth orientation' 1999 - VLBI solutions from IAA for 1999 - time-table for contributions and combinations: - May 15, 2002: call for participation - June 15, 2002: deadline for submission of proposals - August 15, 2002: deadline for submission of series - November 2002, IERS Workshop: first results - April 2003, EGS: results Comments: - as input: not only one (already combined) solution per technique, but more individual solutions (because of research purposes). - older VLBI SINEX files are now available again from T. Herring; these will be included as input files as well (comment: the files of the year 1999 are now included). 5. SINEX format The proposed new format description is available on the web sites of the IERS Analysis Coordinator. M. Rothacher gave a short overview over the changes concerning SINEX 2.0 and presented the statements from IGS, IVS and ILRS. The final version of SINEX 2.0 will be available on May 15, 2002. Comments: - more explanatory text for the description of the blocks, parameters, formulas is required. - STATISTICS block 'strongly recommended' if information is available. - constraints problematical: tight constraints should be forbidden. - normal equations: tests will be performed if the constraints for every solution can be taken away and if the 'free' solution can be recovered. Normal equation blocks will be included in the format. - naming of a station after an earthquake not clear: use a new solution number, but do not change the DOMES number; difference to 'point ID': 4-character abbreviation + point ID corresponds exactly to a unique DOMES number - problems of distinguishing between GPS, GLONASS, (Galileo): at the moment the same code is used for these techniques, i.e. 'P' - parameters for solar radiation pressure will be kept. 6. CRC activities Short presentations from: - J. Vondrak: Astronomical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic - D. Angermann: DGFI - M. Rothacher: FESG, Technical University Munich - R. Gross: JPL Presentations during session G9.05 on Friday, April 26: - J. Vondrak: Astronomical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic - D. Angermann: DGFI - P.-H. Andersen: FFI - P. Yaya: GRGS - P. Sillard: IGN No presentations: - GFZ Potsdam - GIUB - IAA 7. Combination strategies No discussion at this meeting. 8. IERS Combination Workshop 4 days in early November 2002 in Munich - participants: all IERS components and contributing services. - topics: EOP; ITRS/ITRF; ICRS/ICRF; Contributions from Global Geophysical Fluids Centres (GGFC); Conventions/Standards; Rigorous combination of ITRF + EOP + ICRF; IAU Resolutions. - preparation with position papers for each session (available before the workshop). - coordination with IERS Directing Board to retain official character. 9. Varia No further topics and comments. *************************************************************************** IERS Messages are edited and distributed by the IERS Central Bureau. To subscribe or unsubscribe, please write to <central_bureau(a)iers.org>. Archives: http://www.iers.org/iers/publications/messages/ ***************************************************************************

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impending elsie.nci.nih.gov change
by Olson, Arthur David (NCI) May 7, 2002

May 7, 2002

We've milked elsie.nci.nih.gov, our SPARCstation 2 4/75, completely dry and are putting her out to pasture. In the next few days a new machine at a new IP address should be mooing at the same old elsie.nci.nih.gov name. In theory the changeover will be invisible, but if you see any glitches the problem may be at our end. --ado

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suggestion
by Arjun Manglani May 2, 2002

May 2, 2002

http://sandbox.xerox.com/stewart/tzconvert.cgi 1. For Asia/India, please add New Delhi and/or Bombay/Mumbai instead of Calcutta. Very few people would look up under the city name Calcutta. Bomaby and New Delhi are more famous - and these names come first when looking up for time in India. 2. Then there is a confusion of the DST - It would be better if just omit the note about the DST - just show the times as the person requests it - your program should take of the DST and the times - since the dates are plugged i the DST time is known from the date. Thanks. Arjun Manglani (718) 434-2134 Brooklyn, NY 11230 USA

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Tomsk, Russia now GMT+6, not GMT+7.
by Vadim Ostranitsyn May 1, 2002

May 1, 2002

Hi! Since 3:00am 1 May 2002 city Tomsk and Tomskaya oblast' has changed his timezone. Now Tomsk has GMT+6 timezone (as in Novosibirsk) instead of GMT+7. Act No.246 of Government of Russia (2002-04-17). p.s. Sorry for my awful english. -- Vadim Ostranitsyn Evil's flowers, VO45-RIPE, VO15-RIPN Tomsk State University, Russia

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RE: still more problems with the formatting in the tz datafiles
by Olson, Arthur David (NCI) April 29, 2002

April 29, 2002

The zic manual page notes that Input lines are made up of fields. Fields are separated from one another by any number of white space characters. so there's nothing "wild" about the format of the files. --ado -----Original Message----- From: Tony Blackmon [mailto:tblackmon@wilbursmith.com] Sent: Friday, April 26, 2002 2:54 PM To: tz(a)elsie.nci.nih.gov Subject: still more problems with the formatting in the tz datafiles i am finding more and more of these. each header comment is clearly marked with tabs delimiting the file, but when you get into the guts of the data some of these tabs are spaces. how do you parse the tzdata text files if the formatting is not correct? as i stated before, i am working under a windows environment, but still want to handle timezone conversion and client timezone selection using the tzcode data. it perplexes me as to how this all works with the data files formatted so wildly. is it meant to be this way or is all of this accidental or unnoticed? --fluid

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FW: still more problems with the formatting in the tz datafiles
by Olson, Arthur David (NCI) April 29, 2002

April 29, 2002

Tony Blackmon is not on the time zone mailing list; direct replies appropriately. --ado -----Original Message----- From: Tony Blackmon [mailto:tblackmon@wilbursmith.com] Sent: Friday, April 26, 2002 2:54 PM To: tz(a)elsie.nci.nih.gov Subject: still more problems with the formatting in the tz datafiles i am finding more and more of these. each header comment is clearly marked with tabs delimiting the file, but when you get into the guts of the data some of these tabs are spaces. how do you parse the tzdata text files if the formatting is not correct? as i stated before, i am working under a windows environment, but still want to handle timezone conversion and client timezone selection using the tzcode data. it perplexes me as to how this all works with the data files formatted so wildly. is it meant to be this way or is all of this accidental or unnoticed? --fluid

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Time zones?
by MrPek＠aol.com April 26, 2002

April 26, 2002

Hi Im trying to get information on time zones and daylight saving times for cities around the world. Do you have such information, such as the time zone offsets and when the daylight saving time is introduced and removed each year for cites? Thanks for your help Greg Wilson.

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still more problems with the formatting in the tz datafiles
by Tony Blackmon April 26, 2002

April 26, 2002

i am finding more and more of these. each header comment is clearly marked with tabs delimiting the file, but when you get into the guts of the data some of these tabs are spaces. how do you parse the tzdata text files if the formatting is not correct? as i stated before, i am working under a windows environment, but still want to handle timezone conversion and client timezone selection using the tzcode data. it perplexes me as to how this all works with the data files formatted so wildly. is it meant to be this way or is all of this accidental or unnoticed? --fluid

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Re: dislocated time/space regions
by Alex Livingston April 10, 2002

April 10, 2002

Hi Rives and others. The time kept in the three "towns" you mention is half way between the times in Western Australia (WA) and South Australia (SA) only when South Australia is NOT observing daylight-saving time. When it is, these towns are 1&3/4 hours behind SA, but only 3/4 of an hour (less than half as much) ahead of WA. This on-the-quarter hour offset must make it a pain in the neck working out from local time what the times in WA and SA are (not to mention the rest of the world, except Nepal and the Chatham Islands), and it would seem to me much more sensible and convenient if their clocks were kept a whole hour ahead of WA (making them 9 hours ahead of UTC and 21 hours ahead of the date line, the same as Japan and eastern Indonesia). If they did that, they would be 1&1/2 hours behind SA during its daylight-saving period (only a half-as-much again greater offset than from WA) and 1/2 an hour behind for the rest of the year. This would also make time-conversion arithmetic much easier for almost everywhere on earth. Sorry; I've strayed into suggestion/prescription (as opposed to description) again. Rives: I'd love to know how I can get in touch with the sheriff of Madura, so I can put my suggestion to him/her. (Am I right that Nepal and the Chatham Islands are the only other surviving quarter-hour-offset zones in the world? The Chatham Islands in particular are a basket case, having simply added half an hour to their time along with the rest of New Zealand in 1947, thus breaking their connection with mean solar time anyway, and then adopting daylight saving as well! They "should" either go forward 1/4 of an hour or back 3/4 of an hour.) :Alex -------------------------------------------------------------- Alex Livingston Macintosh & Lotus Notes Support, Information Technology Australian Graduate School of Management UNSW SYDNEY NSW 2052 Australia Tel: +61 2 9931-9264 Fax: +61 2 9931-9349 Email: alex(a)agsm.edu.au Web: http://www.agsm.edu.au The Australian Graduate School of Management is a School of both The University of Sydney & The University of New South Wales. CRICOS Provider Number: 00098G Rives McDow <rmcdow@entel To: elsie <tz(a)elsie.nci.nih.gov> es.com> cc: Subject: dislocated time/space regions 2002-04-10 01:44 The most interesting region I have found consists of three towns on the southern coast of Australia, population 10 at last report, along with 50,000 sheep, about 100 kilometers long and 40 kilometers into the continent. The primary town is Madura, with the other towns being Mundrabilla and Eucla. According to the sheriff of Madura, the residents got tired of having to change the time so often, as they are located in a strip overlapping the border of South Australia and Western Australia. South Australia observes daylight saving time; Western Australia does not. The two states are one and a half hours apart. The residents decided to forget about this nonsense of changing the clock so much and set the local time 20 hours and 45 minutes from the international date line, or right in the middle of the time of South Australia and Western Australia. As it only affects about 10 people and tourists staying at the Madura Motel, it has never really made as big an impact as Broken Hill. However, as tourist visiting there or anyone calling the local sheriff will attest, they do keep time in this way. There are quite a few of these types of regions in the world; I'll try and post them as I get the time. Rives McDow

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Principalities etc.
by Oscar van Vlijmen April 9, 2002

April 9, 2002

Other regions which are ignored by many: Sealand ---------- Sealand was founded as a sovereign principality in 1967 in international waters, six miles off the eastern shores of Britain. 51.53N 01.28E. Local time: probably like UK. http://www.sealandgov.com/ Seborga ---------- Principato di Seborga. A principality since 1079, officiallly still not a part of Italy. Located in Liguria, close to the French border. Local time: probably like Italy. http://www.seborga.org/ Transnistria ---------------- Part of Moldova, a former USSR state. Some Ukrainians and Russians have proclaimed a Republic of Transnistria. Tiraspol', 46.85N 29.63E. Local time: probably like Moldova. Facts & figures: http://www.inyourpocket.com/Moldova/Moldova_basic.shtml http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/md.html Oscar van Vlijmen 2002-04-09

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FW: Daylight Saving Time - Palestine
by Olson, Arthur David (NCI) April 8, 2002

April 8, 2002

Michael Douma is not on the time zone mailing list; direct replies appropriately. --ado -----Original Message----- From: Michael Douma [mailto:doumalist@michaeldouma.com] Sent: Monday, April 08, 2002 2:49 PM To: calNDR-L(a)ECUMAIL7.ECU.EDU Cc: Carl D. Goldin; tz(a)elsie.nci.nih.gov Subject: Re: Daylight Saving Time - Palestine Greetings, Do you know of groups (other than the Palestinians) that have decided to use THEIR OWN DST dates, independent of their surrounding country? I am interested in both past and present. I am in discussions right now with a gentleman named Carl D. Goldin, about the observance of Daylight Saving Time in the world. He has pointed out that if I list the Palestinians on a web site about DST, that it is only fair to list other non-country entities. I included information from Amos Shapir in the TZ archive about Palestine. http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/g.html I don't think this has ever com up on the list, and I have skimmed the TZ archives. Michael On Monday, April 8, 2002, at 01:53 PM, Carl D. Goldin wrote: > 1) My objection, and that of the others who wrote you on the subject, > is that there is currently no country by the name of "Palestine". So, > it is inaccurate (and an offensive political stattement) to include it > in your list of "countries", just as it would be to include disputed > territories such as the Kashmir, aspiring nations such as the Basque > Republic, former nations such as Rhodesia, or unclassifiable entities > such as Aryan Nations. > ------------------------------------------- Michael Douma Editor, WebExhibits http://webexhibits.org/

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Re: Daylight Saving Time - Palestine
by Michael Douma April 8, 2002

April 8, 2002

Greetings, Do you know of groups (other than the Palestinians) that have decided to use THEIR OWN DST dates, independent of their surrounding country? I am interested in both past and present. I am in discussions right now with a gentleman named Carl D. Goldin, about the observance of Daylight Saving Time in the world. He has pointed out that if I list the Palestinians on a web site about DST, that it is only fair to list other non-country entities. I included information from Amos Shapir in the TZ archive about Palestine. http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/g.html I don't think this has ever com up on the list, and I have skimmed the TZ archives. Michael On Monday, April 8, 2002, at 01:53 PM, Carl D. Goldin wrote: > 1) My objection, and that of the others who wrote you on the subject, > is that there is currently no country by the name of "Palestine". So, > it is inaccurate (and an offensive political stattement) to include it > in your list of "countries", just as it would be to include disputed > territories such as the Kashmir, aspiring nations such as the Basque > Republic, former nations such as Rhodesia, or unclassifiable entities > such as Aryan Nations. > ------------------------------------------- Michael Douma Editor, WebExhibits http://webexhibits.org/

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Help on time zone data
by Avery Chan April 7, 2002

April 7, 2002

Hi, I'm trying to parse the compiled (i.e.zic'd) time zone files. Is there a document indicating the exact structure of the files? I did a 'man tzfile' but it's not exact: NAME tzfile - time zone information SYNOPSIS #include <tzfile.h> DESCRIPTION The time zone information files used by tzset(3) begin with bytes reserved for future use, followed by six four- byte values of type long, written in a ``standard'' byte order (the high-order byte of the value is written first). These values are, in order: How many bytes is "...bytes..."? What would be most helpful is some code (preferably in C) showing how to parse the files. Also I looked at the rule files, and I sort of understand them, but I'm not too sure what the format is exactly as well as some of the syntax (e.g. what is 'Link')? Thanks, Avery -- At the back of the Daylight Saving scheme I detect the bony, blue-fingered hand of Puritanism, eager to push people into bed earlier, and get them up earlier, to make them healthy, wealthy and wise in spite of themselves. -- Robertson Davies, The Diary of Samuel Marchbanks I wish Daylight Saving Time would die. -- Avery Chan

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Time Zone converter
by Katie_Lunday＠capgroup.com April 5, 2002

April 5, 2002

I'm having trouble finding New Zealand time zones. I found one for Pacific/Auckland but it doesn't convert correctly so I'm not sure if that is a different Auckland from the one in New Zealand? If the other coordinate is US/Pacific the dates should be different because of the date line but the conversion with Pacific/Auckland has it on the same day as US/Pacific. Any suggestions? Thank you, Katie Lunday Capital International tel: 310/996-6175 fax: 310/996-6511 email: katie_lunday(a)capgroup.com

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