Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 22:21:35 -0600 From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Jesper_N=F8rgaard?= <jnorgard@Prodigy.Net.mx> Resent-From: tz@elsie.nci.nih.gov
"internal-style signedness" and "zic style"?? Reading the below utterings just makes me bounce of the wall and scratch my head (but not at the same time :-).
OK, here's a draft rewording that I hope doesn't leave as many marks on your wall (and your head :-). # We use POSIX-style signs in the Zone names and the output abbreviations, # even though this is the opposite of what many people expect. # For example, TZ='Etc/GMT+4' corresponds to 4 hours behind UTC # (i.e. west of Greenwich); it is equivalent to TZ='GMT+4', # except that it uses the abbreviation "GMT+4" # whereas TZ='GMT+4' uses the misleading abbreviation "GMT". # TZ='Etc/GMT+4' is equivalent to the TZ='<GMT+4>+4' of Draft 5 of the next # version of POSIX, but the angle-bracket notation is not yet # supported by the tz code. With the Draft 5 notation, people who # prefer the traditional sign in abbreviations (where positive numbers # are east of Greenwich) can use TZ='<GMT-4>+4'; if they also want # abbreviations that conform to ISO 8601 they can use TZ='<-0400>+4'.