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Date: Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:33:41 +1030 From: David Newall <davidn@...idnewall.com> To: Kyle Moffett <kyle@...fetthome.net> CC: Ben Goodger <goodgerster@...il.com>, Robert Hancock <hancockr@...w.ca>, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, linasvepstas@...il.com, "Jeffrey J. Kosowsky" <jeff@...owsky.org>, MentalMooMan <slashdot@...eshallam.info>, Travis Crump <pretzalz@...hhouse.org>, burdell@...ntheinter.net Subject: Re: Bug: Status/Summary of slashdot leap-second crash on new years 2008-2009 Kyle Moffett wrote: > Actually, "diddling the clock" is really the only valid solution to > the leap-second problem. The leap-second is such a fine adjustment > that it is actually affected by random "noise" introduced into the > solar-system from the chaotic gravitational interactions of the > planets with each other. It's impossible to reliably calculate which > future years will have leap seconds, and in which direction they will > occur. > You're confusing the system of keeping time with those characteristics of the real-world which it represents. They are, in fact, two different things, hence we regularly adjust the system. Now in the case of UNIX and derivatives, the system records the number of seconds since an arbitrary point-in-time, and presents a "wall time" (i.e. the time displayed by the clock on the wall) using, amongst other things, a set of adjustment rules codified by a zoneinfo file. The number of second between 1 minute to- and midnight-ending 31 December is 61. If Linux does not reflect that it is wrong and must be fixed. If it isn't fixed we will increasingly discover a discrepancy between time-data that originates on Linux versus other, correct systems. I don't understand why such a simple thing was unnecessarily complicated. And causing crashes! Ha ha ha or what? A simple addition to zoneinfo was (and still is) all that is required. -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@...r.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
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