POSE proposal for TZ

[Moderator, John Quarterman]

Date: Wed, 12 Feb 86 04:26:15 EST
>From: Chris Torek <chris at MIMSY.UMD.EDU>

I have tried to stay out of this discussion since I know little of
existing time zone standards and have never needed anything but
the 4BSD system time zone.  However, I would like to ask that the
following suggested rule be amended:

>4. The DST variable has 0 or 2 parts in the string.  It has
>   zero if no Daylight Saving Time is observed or 2, when DST
>   starts and ends, for those places that do observe it.  I
>   have been unable to locate any place in the world that has
>   1, 3, or more changes per year to its local time.

Rest assured that the moment this became a standard and everyone
conformed to it (comments upon the likelyhood of that eventuality
notwithstanding), Murphy would strike and Congress would legistlate
some really crazy DST rules.

I see no good reason for requiring the string to have exactly 0 or
2 parts (efficiency of specific implementations does not count as
a good reason).

(I suspect also that once this were standardised, someone would
come up with a time zone name that requires a digit or a plus or
minus sign, making rule 3 unworkable as well....)

Chris

Volume-Number: Volume 5, Number 48