[Python-Dev] proposal: add basic time type to the standardlibrary (original) (raw)

M.-A. Lemburg mal@lemburg.com
Sat, 09 Feb 2002 12:40:27 +0100

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Stephan Richter wrote:

Hello everyone, what a coincidence. I just was discussing this issue with Jason O. today. Here is my original mail: Hey Jason, I also want to start to think about a DateTime module. PostGres has a nice discussion of their impementation: http://www.ca.postgresql.org/users-lounge/docs/7.1/user/datatype-datetime.html Here is Java's stuff on it: http://www3.cbu.edu/sciences/jdk1.3/docs/api/java/sql/Date.html Low Level Data Types: Date Time DateTime TimeStamp - Timestamps are always in UTC.

See below... you don't need that many types.

* Intervals can be added or subtracted from themselves and the types above. DateInterval TimeInterval DateTimeInterval TimeStampInterval

Intervals are a bad idea.

You really only need two types: one referencing fixed points in time and another one for storing the delta between two such fixed points. Everything else can be modeled on top of those two.

Please have a look at mxDateTime. It has these two types and much of what you described in your notes.

BTW, you wouldn't believe how complicated dealing with date and time really is... ah, yes, and don't even think of ever getting DST to work properly :-/

-- Marc-Andre Lemburg CEO eGenix.com Software GmbH

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