[LEAPSECS] Lets get REAL about time.

[Daniel R. Tobias]

On 22 Jan 2012 at 0:09, Poul-Henning Kamp wrote:


> You can create any UTC timestamp you want at any point in history

> where it is defined.

> 

> But you can only convert that UTC timestamp to a realtime_t (and

> vice-versa) for timestamps where the conversion is defined.


Then I suppose it wouldn't make sense to use your realtime_t format 
to store the events in calendaring / scheduling programs, since 
people often want to create scheduled events months or years in 
advance, or recurring on some regular basis (the third Saturday of 
every month at 7 PM) into the indefinite future.  Usually such events 
are only "fixed" relative to local civil time in the place where the 
event is to take place, in which case they would shift relative to 
"real" TAI time with all changes to the local time, from leap seconds 
to changes in time zone boundaries and daylight saving rules.

Other events, such as online events intended to be accessible to 
audiences around the world, would have times fixed to UTC, so they'd 
shift with leap seconds but not with local time rules.

You'd then need to be able to store events in the program several 
different ways, fixed either to local time, UTC, or "real" TAI 
depending on which happens to be relevant to the particular event.



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