Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > linux.debian.user > #228836

Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/

Show all headers | View raw

[Multipart message — attachments visible in raw view] - view raw

On Sat, Nov 21, 2020 at 02:30:08AM +0000, mike.junk.46@att.net wrote:
> Of the 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ America/Chicago and
> CST6CDT are the only two that might apply to me [...]
> [...] if there is any use for them after one's own time zone is set.

Suppose a hacker logs into your computer from far, far away, say
from somewhere in Nepal.

Surely you'd want this person to see the time adapted to their
locale? That's the least courtesy you can be expected to provide?

;-P

Now putting my tongue out of my cheek again: in Unix, a computer
"has" no time zone or language -- people have those. And since,
again in Unix, several people can be logged in [1] at the same time,
it's up to the user's environment [2] to decide on time zone,
language, etc.

This concept is surprising at first coming from other cultures,
where Microsoft was happy to sell you another complete version
of Windows if you wanted your computer to talk to you, e.g.
Portuguese (and yet another for Brazilian Portuguese, greedy as
they are).

Of course, Microsoft has caught up (they are trying since the
mid-90s), but not without some spectacular messups. Remember that
one where (I think it was Windows 95), while trying to automate
the spring DST transition were spotted dithering endlessly between
2AM and 3AM?

Unix has had this abstraction always: there's the internal time,
and there's the time shown to the user, which depends on the user.

There's the error itself, and there's the error message shown to
the user. And so on.

Cheers

[1] This concept extends to other remote communication things,
   like http.
[2] See man 7 locale for the gory details

 - t

Back to linux.debian.user | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ mike.junk.46@att.net - 2020-11-21 03:50 +0100
  Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ Andy Smith <andy@strugglers.net> - 2020-11-21 04:10 +0100
  Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ John Hasler <jhasler@newsguy.com> - 2020-11-21 04:20 +0100
    Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ Paul Johnson <baloo@ursamundi.org> - 2020-11-21 04:30 +0100
  Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2020-11-21 10:00 +0100
    Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ "Martin McCormick" <martin.m@suddenlink.net> - 2020-11-21 20:30 +0100
      Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ Andy Smith <andy@strugglers.net> - 2020-11-21 22:40 +0100
        Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> - 2020-11-21 22:50 +0100
        Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ "Martin McCormick" <martin.m@suddenlink.net> - 2020-11-22 03:50 +0100
          Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ Andy Smith <andy@strugglers.net> - 2020-11-22 05:30 +0100
            rsync link corruption with -H and --link-dest "Gareth Evans" <donotspam@fastmail.fm> - 2020-11-22 05:50 +0100
            Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ "Martin McCormick" <martin.m@suddenlink.net> - 2020-11-30 13:20 +0100
      Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ Charles Curley <charlescurley@charlescurley.com> - 2020-11-21 23:10 +0100
      Re: Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2020-11-23 14:00 +0100
        Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ Charles Curley <charlescurley@charlescurley.com> - 2020-11-23 16:50 +0100
        Re: Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ Mike McClain <mike.junk.46@att.net> - 2020-11-24 06:50 +0100
          Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2020-11-24 14:10 +0100
            Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ rhkramer@gmail.com - 2020-11-24 17:20 +0100
              Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ John Hasler <jhasler@newsguy.com> - 2020-11-24 17:30 +0100
                Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ Curt <curty@free.fr> - 2020-11-24 18:10 +0100
                Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2020-11-24 19:10 +0100
                Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ rhkramer@gmail.com - 2020-11-24 19:40 +0100
                Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2020-11-24 20:50 +0100
                Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ Michael Stone <mstone@debian.org> - 2020-11-25 03:00 +0100
          Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> - 2020-11-24 15:50 +0100
          Re: Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ Michael Stone <mstone@debian.org> - 2020-11-24 17:10 +0100
            Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ "Martin McCormick" <martin.m@suddenlink.net> - 2020-11-30 14:10 +0100
          Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ John Hasler <jhasler@newsguy.com> - 2020-11-24 17:20 +0100
            Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ Gene Heskett <gheskett@shentel.net> - 2020-11-24 18:20 +0100
          Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2020-11-24 20:50 +0100
  Re: 780 files in /usr/share/zoneinfo/ David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2020-11-22 00:00 +0100

csiph-web