[tz] tz abbreviations / zdump for programmers

[Ángel González]

On 04/06/12 17:02, Boruch Baum wrote:
> 2] End users' stubborn insistence on using tz abbreviations
> ===========================================================
> ... and who can blame them, when that's all they hear in the media.
> This leaves me in a bind, because if I accept a tz abbreviation as a
> user input, I have two undesirable options: 1) I could scan ALL the
> ~420 tzif files for matches and, if I discover that the tz abbrev is
> not unique, either make an educated guess (based upon the user's
> locale definition which often will include a country code and a
> language) or prompt the user for clarification; or 2) I could
> pre-compile a list that suits my parochial needs, and update my list
> anytime the tzdata package is updated (and still have to occassionally
> guess or prompt the user).
I would ask the user.

Yes, the users are stubborn and will expect "your silly app" to "perfectly
know" what is, for instance, "PST timezone".
I'd throw them a dialog requesting clarification if they mean
-  Pacific Standard Time, UTC−8:00
-  Pakistan Standard Time, UTC+5:00
-  Philippine Standard Time, UTC+8:00

Maybe with a "By PST I always mean this one" checkbox.

If you try to guess, you will sometimes "guess wrong", and a smart program
taking bad decisions is worse than a dumb program you need to guide.

Also, in the example above you will discover that English is official
language in the three countries... :-)