Re: [Boost-bugs] [Boost C++ Libraries] #3336: utc offset calculated wrong

Subject: Re: [Boost-bugs] [Boost C++ Libraries] #3336: utc offset calculated wrong
From: Boost C++ Libraries (noreply_at_[hidden])
Date: 2010-04-27 15:42:05

#3336: utc offset calculated wrong
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 Reporter:  silvan@…              |       Owner:  az_sw_dude
     Type:  Bugs                  |      Status:  new       
Milestone:  Boost 1.40.0          |   Component:  date_time 
  Version:  Boost 1.38.0          |    Severity:  Problem   
 Keywords:                        |  
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Comment(by Jason Pettiss <jpettiss@…>):

 The UTC offset in POSIX 1003.1 section 8.3 TZ strings is inverted from
 that in Olson TZ database strings, which is a cause for confusion.  The
 former treats UTC as relative to the local time, i.e what do we add to the
 ''local'' wall clock to produce the wall clock time in UTC.  The latter
 treats the local time as relative to UTC, as in, what do we add to the
 time in UTC to get to the local time.

 The man pages for tzset(3) seem pretty consistent although some are
 clearer than others.  I like this wording best, myself:

   offset:: Indicates the value one must add to the local time to arrive at
 Coordinated Universal Time.

 Sun is their own celestial body but they see it the same way:

 http://docs.sun.com/source/816-5523-10/appf.htm


 ||USA (Eastern) ||EST5EDT
 ||Russia (Moscow) ||MST-3MDT

 Here also, positive is west of Greenwich, negative is east of it.

 As a hacky workaround, the string can be manipulated prior to feeding it
 to posix_time_zone.  Find the first [0-9+-].  If we're not at the end of
 the string, if '+' change to '-' and vice versa.  Otherwise insert '-'
 before the current position.  Something like the following (untested!):

 {{{
 void fliptzoffset(std::string& tzstr) {
   std::string::iterator i = tzstr.begin(), e = tzstr.end();
   while (i != e && !isdigit(*i) && '+'!=*i && '-'!=*i) ++i;
   if (i == e) return;
   if ('-' == *i) *i = '+';
   else if ('+' == *i) *i = '-';
   else tzstr.insert(i, '-');
 }
 }}}

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://svn.boost.org/trac/boost/ticket/3336#comment:2>
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