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From: std-unix@ut-sally.UUCP (Moderator, John Quarterman)
Newsgroups: mod.std.unix
Subject: Re: POSE proposal for TZ
Message-ID: <4210@ut-sally.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 18-Feb-86 16:02:52 EST
Article-I.D.: ut-sally.4210
Posted: Tue Feb 18 16:02:52 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 19-Feb-86 04:16:10 EST
Organization: IEEE/P1003 Portable Operating System Environment Committee
Lines: 28
Approved: jsq@sally.UUCP

>From: hao!asgb!devine@seismo.UUCP (Bob Devine)
Date: Mon, 17 Feb 86 18:00:40 mst

>>From: Chris Torek <chris@MIMSY.UMD.EDU>

>>Discussion of (1) why Daylight Saving Time should not be constrained
>>to either 0 or 2 changes per year; and (2) cautioning against a
>>timezone name that may contain numerals, '+', or '-'.  Both points
>>emphasized the possibility of future bizarre changes.


  Yes, I was aware and worried about both problems.  However, in my
search of timezones and DST rules worldwide I was not able to find any
current or past rules that would have violated the assumptions.  Future
rules are unlikely to break the current conventions for fear of confusing
everybody (it's bad enough now).

  Parsing the strings for TZ _COULD_ be done using reserved characters
but that would really break the old usage of the TZ environment variable.
I'm hoping to only bend it.  Likewise, the library call that interprets
the DST strings _COULD_ be written in a generalized fashion to handle any
number of DST changes per year.  However, I don't think such effort is 
required.

Bob Devine
(BTW, Sys V spell doesn't have "timezone" in its dictionary.)

Volume-Number: Volume 5, Number 52