Managing multiple timezone on the same Instance

Hi all,

We built two years ago an application based on Oracle 7.2.3 on a HP MPE. the application is partly C/S based (using SQL*Net) and terminal based. Now we're facing to implement that application to users from another TimeZone. I have a way to set the clock for people accessing the aplication from the terminal part of it (there is a timezone session variable that can be set on a MPE computer). However I don't know how to do so for SQL*Net connection (from WinNT PC). Is there a ORA something variable?

I don't have just a technical problem. Even if I find a way to solve the timezone setting problem, should I really use it? From the timezoned user point of view, it is normal to work with their local time, not the the time where the HP MPE computer is located. However, people from different timezone share the same data: so how do I keep chronological track of events if their timestamp are based on local time? Suppose I have time effectiveness of a price: I want it effective for everyone at the same moment, not at each other local time!

It is an interesting problem we're facing now, but we don't really know how to face it. Maybe systems argeted to such a constraint are made differently than ours. Maybe there is something we can do without too much effort.

I'd like to hear your point of you about this problem. I suggest to respond to the group since it could be interesting to many people here. Thanks.

Michel Gauthier
Donohue Inc. Received on Fri May 21 1999 - 15:43:06 CDT