Re: Timezone database changes

Peter Eisentraut <peter_e@gmx.net> writes:
> We are not considering an interval scheduling system, we are considering a 
> database system.  Such a system should have the basic property that if you 
> store A, it will read out as A.

I'm not sure that I think this sort of rigid thinking works very well in
the wonderland that is date/time behavior.  When the rules of the game
(ie, DST laws) are changing underneath you, who is to say exactly what
"reading out as A" means?  Arguably, TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE does the
right thing now, and would cease to do the right thing if we changed
it as I think you intend.

Given that all involved agree that the SQL spec is hopelessly broken
in this area, becoming more compliant with it is not a goal that I
think we should strive for blindly.
        regards, tom lane