Re: Time zones calculation - browser apps

From: Jeremy <jeremy0505_at_gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 27 May 2009 16:56:14 +0100
Message-ID: <MPG.248772fa8d6a9804989728_at_News.Individual.NET>



In article <57fd48a3-833d-47d5-8f3e-9a02f6ebe0d6 _at_f37g2000pro.googlegroups.com>, joel-garry_at_home.com says...>
> On May 27, 8:27 am, Jeremy <jeremy0..._at_gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > this question pertains to 10.2.0.1 +
> >
> > Say we have a database which runs on a server which is ALWAYS set to
> > GMT.
> >
> > We have users of a web application in two timezones - say today this is
> > GMT+1 and GMT+2. In the winter, these will be GMT and GMT+1.
> >
> > The application is browser based (so not concept of client time) but we
> > would like it to be able to present times (from database columns of type
> > DATE) with an appropriate offset so that the user sees them presented
> > corectly (for them). The database stores all dates using db server time.
> >
> > This statement:
> >
> > select tz_offset('cet') from dual;
> >  = gives us +2
> >
> > select tz_offset('wet') from dual;
> >  = gives us +1
> >
> > When the clocks go back in the autumn, will these values automatically
> > alter to +1 and +0 ?
> >
> > Sorry of this is not too clear - I understand what I am asking :)
> >
> > --
> > jeremy
>
> Poke around on meatlink with searches like for timezone patch. Note:
> 553812.1 is pretty informative. I didn't totally understand it until
> I saw strangeness in EM job times, or something, I was using the wrong
> java. Dates of DST change far more often than they should, too.
>
> Basically, you have to be sure java, your OS, and Oracle are all
> synchronized and up to date on timezone patches. It also depends on
> exactly what features of date and time you are using, and which
> countries your timezones are dealing with. Not to mention your client
> OS settings, especially if they dual-boot between significantly
> different OS's, though that tends not to be an Oracle problem. I
> still crack up watching the date/times in ms outlook email chains
> across timezones, and even some blog threads. I'm easily entertained.
>

Thanks for the info, though I hope our environment is simpler - there is no client (per se) as it is simply XHTML -> browser - so the data presented to the user is always generated by PL/SQL in the database. There is no Java layer in there either. Does that simplify things for me?

-- 
jeremy
Received on Wed May 27 2009 - 10:56:14 CDT

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