[ntp:questions] Can or should the NTP protocol eventually serve timezone data?

Unruh unruh-spam at physics.ubc.ca
Thu Jun 18 04:36:37 UTC 2009


"Richard B. Gilbert" <rgilbert88 at comcast.net> writes:

>Rob wrote:
>> Richard B. Gilbert <rgilbert88 at comcast.net> wrote:
>>> Rob wrote:
>>>> Richard B. Gilbert <rgilbert88 at comcast.net> wrote:
>>>>> I believe that the O/S vendors supply a file with timezone data.  If you 
>>>>> have support, you can even get updates from the vendor.  Since I can't 
>>>>> afford support (I'm retired and a hobbyist) I have to do it by hand.
>>>> As Jan Ceuleers also pointed out, the problem is not at all limited
>>>> to operating systems.  Any device that obtains time using NTP and wants
>>>> to display it in local time needs the info.
>>>> This could just as well be a digital clock.
>>> I have a couple of "radio controlled" digital clocks and a wrist watch 
>>> that do it automagically.  The VLF broadcast from WWVB provides the 
>>> necessary info.
>> 
>> That cannot be true.  It may work for your location, but I'm sure it
>> does not cover the general case under discussion.

>How can it not be true?  The time broadcast encodes both the time 
>(standard time) and whether or not DST is in effect.  Of course it 
>doesn't work for those jurisdictions that have chosen to go there own 
>way as far as DST is concerned.

But there are at least 10 different timezone/DST rules for the USA. How does WWV broadcast
them all?




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