time zone library

[Paul Koning]

>>>>> "Arthur" == Arthur David Olson <Olson> writes:

 >> My second question concerns leap seconds.  It appears that the
 >> leap second data is associated with every zone file.  Why isn't it
 >> simply
 Arthur> the
 >> same for everything, and global?

 Arthur> There was a year when New York observed the leap second at
 Arthur> midnight local time rather than midnight UCT; this allowed
 Arthur> the countdown at Times Square to go "3...2...1...leap...Happy
 Arthur> New Year." While the data files reflect the legal reality of
 Arthur> the situation, we've left code in place to allow oddball
 Arthur> observance of leap seconds for those who want it. A
 Arthur> consequence is that leap data must be stored on a
 Arthur> zone-by-zone basis.  The amount of leap data per zone is, of
 Arthur> course, fairly small.

I find this odd.  Leap seconds are defined by BIH, i.e., they are an
international standard, not merely the local whim of some random
mayor.  While it is fun to think of a leap second observation at Times
Square, that doesn't mean it's real.  I would think it's better to
ignore such games.

       paul