[tz] Comments

[Guy Harris]

On Apr 21, 2023, at 1:05 PM, Michael Douglass via tz <tz at iana.org> wrote:

> On 4/21/23 15:13, Arthur David Olson via tz wrote:
> 
>> Fun fact: the time zone database is 80% comments by volume.
> 
> What's that by weight?

If stored on paper, probably a much smaller percentage, as most of the weight of the printed-out tzdb source would be paper, not ink/toner impressions on the paper.

If stored in uncompressed digital media, it depends on the relative weight of different bit sequences on the storage medium and on whether the comment bit patterns are heavier, or lighter, on average than the data bit patterns.

If stored in compressed digital media, that question might not have an answer, as, depending on the compression algorithm, it might not be possible to determine which bits in the compressed form belong to comments and which belong to data.