←back to thread

Debian 13, Postgres, and the US/* time zones

(rachelbythebay.com)
283 points move-on-by | 2 comments | 12 Sep 25 02:33 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
Show context
ggm ◴[12 Sep 25 02:48 UTC] No.45218201[source]▶
Is there a problem with ISO3166 denoted information in general or is there a specific US issue here? I would think ISO code denoted tzdata was a public good in some sense.
replies(3): >>45218844 #>>45219199 #>>45219576 #
masklinn ◴[12 Sep 25 06:27 UTC] No.45219199[source]▶
All the legacy time zones were moved out of the default zoneinfo install. It’s not a us-specific issue but the legacy US/ timezones remain in widespread use, and they stop working on Debian 13 ootb (possibly Ubuntu noble as well?).
replies(2): >>45219462 #>>45219568 #
pixelesque ◴[12 Sep 25 07:23 UTC] No.45219568[source]▶
Does anyone know why they are still in widespread use?

Config defaults somewhere still using them? Man page examples? Tutorials using them? Or just force of habit?

replies(5): >>45219671 #>>45220170 #>>45220261 #>>45220493 #>>45220793 #
acdha ◴[12 Sep 25 10:50 UTC] No.45220793[source]▶
There’s definitely inertia but I think it’s also that the US/ names match official usage: nobody, not even residents, says the time zone is New York because the official name is Eastern time.
replies(1): >>45221992 #
1. cpburns2009 ◴[12 Sep 25 13:36 UTC] No.45221992[source]▶
Exactly this. I still don't know if there's a technical difference between America/New_York, America/Detroit, or America/Indianapolis.
replies(1): >>45223014 #
2. umanwizard ◴[12 Sep 25 15:14 UTC] No.45223014[source]▶
America/Detroit is different from America/New_York on times before 1915 (when Detroit switched from Central to Eastern Time).