Re: java.sql.ResultSet.getTime() returns wrong time

Lukas Eder wrote:
> I have experienced a very peculiar issue with the postgresql JDBC driver
> when calling java.sql.ResultSet.getTime() or getTimestamp() on a field
> of type timetz.
>
> Here is how to reproduce the issue:
>
>    1. Set date and time to 2010-09-19 14:57:00 CEST (central european
>       summer time: UTC+2) or something similar
>    2. Fetch "SELECT current_time" from the Postgres database directly.
>       This will return the correct time, e.g "14:57:17.116452+02"
>    3. Fetch "SELECT current_time" from the Postgres JDBC driver. This
>       will return a wrong time, e.g 13:57:17

The problem is this: there is no information that says the time string
that you are converting is covered by a particular set of timezone
rules. The only information given to the driver is that it is a time
with a fixed offset of +0200.

So the returned time is a representation of 1970-01-01 14:57:17 +0200,
NOT 1970-01-01 14:57:17 in your local timezone. When java.sql.Time then
applies the local timezone, you are in essence asking "What time is
1970-01-01 14:57:17 +0200 in the local timezone?" to which the answer is
"13:57:17".

Using the current date instead of 1970-01-01 is explicitly wrong for
java.sql.Time (see its javadoc), and is conceptually wrong for
timestamps: how do you know the JVM's current timezone rules are
applicable to that particular time? Consider the case where you stored
current_time in a timetz column, then retrieved it 6 months later after
the local daylight savings rules changed.

Did you see Kris's earlier response here? See
http://archives.postgresql.org/pgsql-jdbc/2010-05/msg00052.php. The
problem is we need to pass around a timezone offset, but JDBC +
java.util.Date give us no way to do that without subclassing those types
(which seems a bit hairy). Without that extra data, timetz just doesn't
map well to any of the standard Java date/time types.

-O