Re: [Exim] [OT] Global timezone map

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Author: Philip Hazel
Date:  
To: John Horne
CC: Exim Users List
Subject: Re: [Exim] [OT] Global timezone map
On Tue, 27 Feb 2001, John Horne wrote:

> I thought it would have been handy to have a small map of the world with
> timezone abbreviations on it.


IIRC, the abbreviations are deprecated, and have been for some time.
This might explain the lack of a map. Here's what the new version of RFC
822 will say:

  4.3. Obsolete Date and Time                                             


  The syntax for the obsolete date format allows a 2 digit year in the    
  date field and allows for a list of alphabetic time zone specifications 
  that were used in earlier versions of this standard. 


Even when RFC 1123 was written, it said:

         There is a strong trend towards the use of numeric timezone    
         indicators, and implementations SHOULD use numeric timezones   
         instead of timezone names.  However, all implementations MUST
         accept either notation.  If timezone names are used, they MUST 
         be exactly as defined in RFC-822.                              


         The military time zones are specified incorrectly in RFC-822:  
         they count the wrong way from UT (the signs are reversed).  As 
         a result, military time zones in RFC-822 headers carry no      
         information.


But, of course, people continue to use them... (Exim does not).

-- 
Philip Hazel            University of Cambridge Computing Service,
ph10@???      Cambridge, England. Phone: +44 1223 334714.