The global database of time zones is closed by a lawsuit!
TZ_database , the key source of time zone information in the software world, is closed due to copyright infringement allegations.
The closure was initiated in connection with a lawsuit from Astrolabe Inc (manufacturer of software for astrologers) against 2 nat. persons, Arthur David Olson and Paul R. Eggert, DB managers from the mid-80s, September 30 in Boston - www.scribd.com/doc/67760407/ASTROLABE-INC-Vs-ARTHUR-DAVID-OLSON-and-PAUL-EGGERT- Complaint .
The lawsuit involves the use of historical data on time zones from the books of The American Atlas by Thomas G Shanks and The International Atlas by Shanks and Rique Pottenger.
The claim does not affect the current information in tz_database. In spite of this, Olson reported that the ftp database at elsie.nci.nih.gov is closed, as is the mailing list of the project.
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Correct time zone information is necessary for proper event logging and automatic processing at the right time.
“The situation is that now there is no central source of information on time zones,” writes British Java developer, Stephan Colburn, “This was undoubtedly a key tool for determining the exact time.”
Olson's TZ_database is used for operations with time zones in a large number of software, such as OS X, most Linux distributions, Solaris, Oracle, JRE, PHP, various Perl and Python modules, the .NET Framework time zones module.
There is only one significant exception - the software maker Microsoft, which uses its proprietary database of time zones.
Without a trusted time zone database, each software project will have to monitor changes in time zones on its own. But decisions about changes in time zones are sometimes made so quickly that not everyone can manage to enter this information.
“This information is so important that it should be supported by a group with better legal and financial support,” writes Colburn.
“I urge industry leaders to intervene, IBM, Oracle, Apple, Google, RedHat, we are waiting for your move.”
UPD: This comment explains very well what the base is and what it is for.
The closure was initiated in connection with a lawsuit from Astrolabe Inc (manufacturer of software for astrologers) against 2 nat. persons, Arthur David Olson and Paul R. Eggert, DB managers from the mid-80s, September 30 in Boston - www.scribd.com/doc/67760407/ASTROLABE-INC-Vs-ARTHUR-DAVID-OLSON-and-PAUL-EGGERT- Complaint .
The lawsuit involves the use of historical data on time zones from the books of The American Atlas by Thomas G Shanks and The International Atlas by Shanks and Rique Pottenger.
The claim does not affect the current information in tz_database. In spite of this, Olson reported that the ftp database at elsie.nci.nih.gov is closed, as is the mailing list of the project.
')
Correct time zone information is necessary for proper event logging and automatic processing at the right time.
“The situation is that now there is no central source of information on time zones,” writes British Java developer, Stephan Colburn, “This was undoubtedly a key tool for determining the exact time.”
Olson's TZ_database is used for operations with time zones in a large number of software, such as OS X, most Linux distributions, Solaris, Oracle, JRE, PHP, various Perl and Python modules, the .NET Framework time zones module.
There is only one significant exception - the software maker Microsoft, which uses its proprietary database of time zones.
Without a trusted time zone database, each software project will have to monitor changes in time zones on its own. But decisions about changes in time zones are sometimes made so quickly that not everyone can manage to enter this information.
“This information is so important that it should be supported by a group with better legal and financial support,” writes Colburn.
“I urge industry leaders to intervene, IBM, Oracle, Apple, Google, RedHat, we are waiting for your move.”
UPD: This comment explains very well what the base is and what it is for.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/129924/
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