[LEAPSECS] The relation between calendars and leap seconds.

[Poul-Henning Kamp]

In message <Pine.GSO.4.58.0811121629040.5480 at cass03>, Peter Bunclark writes:



>> And illegal on many systems, including all USGOV owned and operated

>> systems.

>

>So would that mean that any USGOV owned and operated systems not running

>NTP (Window boxes, for example), or those running NTP but are in the

>middle of dealing with a leapsecond, are being illegally operated?

>

>How close to UTC do you have to be to be under the limit when the US Time

>Police pull you in?


That's the funny thing, isn't it ?

As long as you run the system on the buggy POSIX definition of UTC,
and that obviously entails using a UTC source as your reference, it
doesn't matter how lousy your timekeeping is.

But the second you use a non-UTC reference, your are in violation
of FIPS151-2, even if that makes you more precise, timewise.

As one of your supreme court judges said during arguments last year:
words matter, especially in legal texts.

Poul-Henning

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