Path: csiph.com!usenet.pasdenom.info!weretis.net!feeder4.news.weretis.net!feeds.phibee-telecom.net!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed2a.news.xs4all.nl!xs4all!newsgate.cistron.nl!newsgate.news.xs4all.nl!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail
Return-Path: <python-python-list@m.gmane.org>
X-Original-To: python-list@python.org
Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org
X-Spam-Status: OK 0.005
X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 0.99; '*S*': 0.00; 'pycon': 0.01; 'url:pypi': 0.03; 'subject:Python': 0.06; 'subject:support': 0.07; 'pep': 0.09; 'received:80.91': 0.09; 'received:80.91.229': 0.09; 'received:gmane.org': 0.09; 'received:list': 0.09; 'python': 0.11; 'programs.': 0.14; 'fiddle': 0.16; 'finney': 0.16; 'precedence': 0.16; 'received:80.91.229.3': 0.16; 'received:plane.gmane.org': 0.16; 'storing': 0.16; 'timestamp': 0.16; 'url:peps': 0.16; 'utc': 0.16; 'library': 0.18; 'header:User-Agent:1': 0.23; 'url:dev': 0.24; 'values': 0.27; 'header:X-Complaints-To:1': 0.27; 'converting': 0.30; 'nature': 0.30; 'getting': 0.31; 'continually': 0.31; 'maintains': 0.31; 'writes:': 0.31; 'url:python': 0.33; 'subject: (': 0.35; "can't": 0.35; 'library.': 0.36; 'received:com.au': 0.36; 'possible': 0.36; 'url:org': 0.36; 'should': 0.36; 'ben': 0.38; 'to:addr:python-list': 0.38; 'subject:" ': 0.39; 'to:addr:python.org': 0.39; 'received:org': 0.40; 'national': 0.62; 'our': 0.64; 'more': 0.64; 'url:v': 0.71; 'url:youtube': 0.71; 'url:watch': 0.77; 'manage,': 0.84; 'politicians': 0.84; 'received:125': 0.84; 'relations,': 0.84; 'to/from': 0.84; 'url:video': 0.84; 'canonical': 0.91; '2013': 0.98
X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/
To: python-list@python.org
From: Ben Finney <ben+python@benfinney.id.au>
Subject: Improving support for timezones in Python (was: UTC "timezone" causing brain explosions)
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 13:26:29 +1100
References: <CANc-5UyOGNWdug-JvXe_RMn9V7BCGFyZ0NwtSjFMFaW1f_wfhw@mail.gmail.com> <85eh3qcsr9.fsf@benfinney.id.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: vmx15867.hosting24.com.au
X-Public-Key-ID: 0xBD41714B
X-Public-Key-Fingerprint: 9CFE 12B0 791A 4267 887F  520C B7AC 2E51 BD41 714B
X-Public-Key-URL: http://www.benfinney.id.au/contact/bfinney-gpg.asc
X-Post-From: Ben Finney <bignose+hates-spam@benfinney.id.au>
User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/23.4 (gnu/linux)
Cancel-Lock: sha1:q+X8Gwpt8ilywyhvMn2iXXtz9V4=
X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.15
Precedence: list
List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language <python-list.python.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <https://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-list>, <mailto:python-list-request@python.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-list/>
List-Post: <mailto:python-list@python.org>
List-Help: <mailto:python-list-request@python.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list>, <mailto:python-list-request@python.org?subject=subscribe>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.python
Message-ID: <mailman.6187.1391135203.18130.python-list@python.org>
Lines: 25
NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6
X-Trace: 1391135203 news.xs4all.nl 2832 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:33595
X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl
Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:65078

Ben Finney <ben+python@benfinney.id.au> writes:

> Time zones are a hairy beast to manage, made all the more difficult
> because national politicians continually fiddle with them which means
> they can't just be a built-in part of the Python standard library.

PyCon 2013 had a good talk on calendaring and timezone issues
<URL:http://www.pyvideo.org/video/1765/blame-it-on-caesar-what-you-need-to-know-about-d>
(video at <URL:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBKqRhn0ekM>).

The speaker, Lennart Regebro, maintains a library for getting the local
timezone <URL:https://pypi.python.org/pypi/tzlocal>, and is currently
working on a PEP to improve timezone support directly in the standard
library <URL:http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0431/>.

He also reinforces the message that UTC is the canonical timezone for
storing and manipulating timestamp values, and we should be converting
to/from those canonical values as early/late as possible in our programs.

-- 
 \     “Reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature |
  `\                            cannot be fooled.” —Richard P. Feynman |
_o__)                                                                  |
Ben Finney