[tz] IANA timezone database - request to add Omaha, Nebraska

Guy Harris gharris at sonic.net
Tue Jul 26 23:18:07 UTC 2022


On Jul 26, 2022, at 4:06 PM, Steve Summit <scs at eskimo.com> wrote:

> I believe Deborah mentioned it had to do with tz files being
> distributed by an "over the air" mechanism which does not know
> how to handle links.

I seem to remember that the new mechanism was added so that certain files can be updated "out of band" or whatever the right jargon would be for "not as part of a software update"; the main reason may have been for various files used by malware detection and the like, but given the well-known (at least to folks on this list!) propensity that countries and subregions of countries have for changing time offsets and time offset rules, the tzdb files are also something for which OTW/OTB/whatever updates are a Good Idea.

I suspect software updates are distributed in the form of bundles (tarballs/paxballs/somethingorotherballs) that carry link information; perhaps the OOB update just says "here's a file, replace this" without any further information.

(For what it's worth, currently, I don't think any notify(3) event is distributed for a tzdb update, so running programs don't see the update.)


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