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From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: why "gmtime" but not "read" and "write"?
Message-ID: <8671@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 28-Sep-87 21:46:59 EDT
Article-I.D.: utzoo.8671
Posted: Mon Sep 28 21:46:59 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 28-Sep-87 21:46:59 EDT
References: <706@sugar.UUCP> <478@green.UUCP>, <815@sugar.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 17

> But part of the information in gmtime() and localtime() isn't available
> outside of UNIX: daylight-savings-time-flag, timezone. It's overkill.

Oh, nonsense.  You mean it isn't available from the *kernel* outside of
Unix.  That doesn't mean it isn't available.  In V6 Unix, the kernel knew
about neither of these things, yet gmtime and localtime worked fine.
(You *did* have to recompile damn near everything if you weren't in the
Eastern time zone, so the change to kernel-supplied info was a big
improvement, mind you.)  In fact, the kernel is almost certainly the wrong
place for this information, because it is potentially subject to change on
a per-machine and even per-user basis (big timesharing machines not
infrequently have customers signed on from several timezones).  Just put
it in a file.  The inability of stupid microcomputer software suppliers
to figure this out is irrelevant.
-- 
"There's a lot more to do in space   |  Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
than sending people to Mars." --Bova | {allegra,ihnp4,decvax,utai}!utzoo!henry