[LEAPSECS] Meeting with Wayne Whyte

[Warner Losh]

On 01/31/2011 15:55, Stephen Colebourne wrote:

> By comparison, leap seconds add a new time representation 23:59:60

> which exists in no other way. Its the creation of the new time that is

> problematic.


Earlier threads have called this the 'non-uniform-radix' problem.  It 
has been argued that there are no discontinuities in UTC, with the 59:60 
notation offered as proof.  However, this moves UTC from a uniform radix 
that everybody is used to dealing with with to one with a 
non-uniform-radix.  This table-driven non-uniformity might or might not 
technically be a discontinuity, but certainly is a pain in the back side.

It is also a central problem of time_t: how do you map this 
non-uniform-radix notation onto a uniform count that must always satisfy 
properties that explicitly mandate a uniform-radix.

The timezone code in Unix does deal with this by increasing the UTC-TAI 
offset so you could, in theory, tell the same way to tell with DST 
transitions.  I tend to agree with you thought that it might be pounding 
screws with a hammer....

Warner