[LEAPSECS] Java: ThreeTen/JSR-310

[Stephen Colebourne]

On 28 January 2011 05:33, Tom Van Baak <tvb at leapsecond.com> wrote:

> There are many forms of "SLS"; from those that spread the

> leap across one second, or two seconds, or 30 seconds or

> a minute, or an hour, or a day. Spread it across a year (or

> however long it's been since the last leap second) and you

> have UT1. And that's just the versions of SLS that use linear

> ramping. You can imagine nicer ones that take off and end

> slowly instead of the abrupt quantum rate change as seen

> in the utc-sls write-up. 1200 might make a better choice if

> there are 50/60 Hz effects (1000 is not divisible by 60). Or

> 300. 1024 or a smaller power of 2 is nicer for low cost, low

> power devices. 1200 has more common prime factors than

> 1000 which can come in handy in some cases. You get the

> idea. Lots of ways to do it.


And thats fine. But since the %age of users that care is
infinitessimally small, I need one number and no configuration. The
only well-written document (proto-standard) is UTC-SLS which uses
1000.

Now if this list or others wants to get together and writeup a
replacement for UTC-SLS in the next few months that it prefers with
justifications as to why its better and a process for making it a real
standard, then so be it. Otherwise, UTC-SLS with 1000 will get used
simply because it exists now. And by virtue of being used in Java it
would then be a de facto standard.

@Gerard, The point about making UTC-SLS more certain than one webpage
is well made.

Stephen