[tz] Leap seconds puzzle

[Lester Caine]

On 09/04/15 01:18, Ted Cabeen wrote:
> Because leap seconds are intercalary, time math using time_t makes sense
> to humans because we don't notice the difference.  We generally due time
> math from the "one year ago", or "days since September 11th, 2001",
> which all work well with the time_t construction.  The only time where
> things get out of whack is when you are looking at time intervals that
> cross a leap seconds where accuracy to the second level matters.

The 'puzzle' is perhaps why the base IS seconds? ;)

But as others have pointed out it is only important for some
calculations. Timestamp data for all of the databases I use work with a
day base and return time as a fraction of a day. This is a much more
practical base for genealogical data than 'seconds' for many reasons and
I still feel that any overhaul of the time_t libraries would be better
based on this, if only for its much cleaner handling of 32/64bit device
interworking problems.

-- 
Lester Caine - G8HFL
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