[tz] More prominent/consistent record of rule change notification date?

[Brian Inglis]

On 2023-05-01 07:28, Jan Harris via tz wrote:
> Greetings
> 
> I deal with getting the TZ updates rolled out for IBM AIX. As we all know, 
> sometimes IANA is notified in the eleventh hour, and it is not feasible for AIX 
> to deliver fixes in a matter of weeks (or less)
> 
> Take Egypt, for example.  For good reason, IANA did initiate a new build on 
> March 1, as discussed in this thread 
> <https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/tz/2023-March/032683.html>. /(Even if they did, 
> it would have been a tight schedule for AIX to have ready mid April.) /
> 
> I certainly appreciate the emphasis on notifications, placed in the IANA article.
> 
> /*How Time Zones Are Coordinated* 
> <https://www.icann.org/en/blogs/details/how-time-zones-are-coordinated-13-03-2023-en>/
> 
>       o /https://www.icann.org/en/blogs/details/how-time-zones-are-coordinated-13-03-2023-en <https://www.icann.org/en/blogs/details/how-time-zones-are-coordinated-13-03-2023-en>/
> 
> I have incorporated this message in to our AIX TZ documentation.
> 
> We usually see some attribution to the notification in the NEWS
> 
> /       Starting in 2023, Egypt will observe DST from April's last Friday/
> 
> /       through October's last Thursday.  (Thanks to Ahmad ElDardiry.)/
> 
> /       Assume the transition times are 00:00 and 24:00, respectively./
> 
> I think it would be helpful if there was a clear record of *WHEN*​ IANA is 
> officially notified of TZ changes, so users could understand this is the result 
> of their government changes, and notification processes, it is not a "defect" in 
> how IANA or vendors roll out these updates.  I do realize that sometimes 
> “official” notifications seems to be that someone submitted a more formal 
> government reference, instead of a news article. Maybe just an indicator of when 
> the group is provided such official confirmation.

Depends on what you call official?

Check the experimental repository data file e.g.

	https://github.com/eggert/tz/blob/main/africa

comments for the country changes preceding the rules and zones lines, or the 
dates of the commits in the history affecting e.g.

	https://github.com/eggert/tz/commits/main/africa

https://github.com/eggert/tz/commit/dcd8cbed23201416cbd3bbf43f669737693282d7

https://github.com/eggert/tz/commit/1dd5133c04707a454e275032f6264b03f267638b

Most official .eg gov web site access is blocked from outside Egypt, perhaps 
inside also?

Most other countries' governments post official notices on their sites and often 
have links to relevant regulations, decrees, or laws, or at least name them, so 
they can be searched and referred to directly if available online.

-- 
Take care. Thanks, Brian Inglis              Calgary, Alberta, Canada

La perfection est atteinte                   Perfection is achieved
non pas lorsqu'il n'y a plus rien à ajouter  not when there is no more to add
mais lorsqu'il n'y a plus rien à retirer     but when there is no more to cut
                                 -- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry