In message <Pine.GSO.4.58.0508301611190.3371_at_cass18>, Peter Bunclark writes:
>I would have thought that part of the answer to the difficulty in
>implementation and testing would be to use an open-source library of tried
>and tested algorithms. I don't quite understand why software engineers
>seem to feel the need to write new leap-second handling code every time
>they invent a new gadget.
The vast majority of software engineers do use standard code, they
use their operating systems libraries, this makes them seemingly
leap second compliant.
"Seemingly" here covers that they are only compliant in all the
seconds that are not leapseconds or seconds right before leap
seconds.
The POSIX definition makes it impossible to correctly handle leap
seconds with any complying implementation of the standard, and
therefore applications which needs to be *truly* leapsecond compliant,
cannot use the standard libraries.
--
Poul-Henning Kamp | UNIX since Zilog Zeus 3.20
phk_at_FreeBSD.ORG | TCP/IP since RFC 956
FreeBSD committer | BSD since 4.3-tahoe
Never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by incompetence.
Received on Tue Aug 30 2005 - 08:23:03 PDT