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From: IMHW400@INDYVAX.BITNET
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Re:  Times and Time Zones
Message-ID: <8711102237.AA03147@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Tue, 10-Nov-87 09:51:00 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8711102237.AA03147
Posted: Tue Nov 10 09:51:00 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 13-Nov-87 00:20:19 EST
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
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A historical note:  DEC's TOPS-20 operating system (no boos, please) maintains
the system time as GMT based on that same "Smithsonian" standard epoch.  One of
the system startup parameters is the offset from GMT to local time.  The system
services that perform date conversion will use this offset unless told to use
some other time zone, can handle the usual symbolic time zones as part of a
date-time string, and will apply or not apply DST as requested.  So DEC has
done it all at least once before, and should be able to do it again for their
flagship operating system.  It all works rather well; the only problem I've
had with all of this is that Congress keeps changing the dates on which DST is
turned on and off, so DEC keeps having to edit the system, maintaining an
ever-growing list of rules for DST.  At this site we are moving from TOPS to
VMS, and one of the first surprises I had regarding VMS was the bare-bones
date conversion services.

{FLAME ON!}

One thing that would help a lot is if we could all give up the idea of
twiddling the clocks twice a year.  Indiana does not observe DST, and the
most significant consequence of that seems to be that the television schedule
changes in spring and fall.  (On the telephone, one does have to remember that
one is in CDT in the summer and EST in the winter.)

{flame off}

I should know better than to start this issue up again, as the volume of flames
on this subject would probably justify the creation of an INFO-DST list.  Feel
free to chastise me privately.