On 1/23/19 2:40 PM, Pramoth Murali wrote:
how long will these rearguard versions (with no negative offsets) continue to be provided?
There is no definite schedule for that, just as there is no definite schedule for anything associated with tzdb. It's a volunteer effort, after all. That being said, you needn't retrieve a rearguard-format tarball to get rearguard-format data. You can instead use the ordinary tarball, which comes bundled with software that will generate rearguard format upon request. Even if I stop my informal distribution of a rearguard-format tarball, you can still generate rearguard-format data from the standard distribution by running the command 'make rearguard.zi'. I also suggest boosting the priority of updating your custom version of tzcode so that it works the way ordinary tzcode works. tzcode's zic has supported negative offsets for decades, and it's time to catch up.