Understanding Time Zones

Normally, our applications must work in numerous international locations with explicit guidelines, languages, currency, number formats, etc. I mean every country might have its own regional settings so each point needs a particular treatment.

The earth spins around itself at the rate of 1 rotation per 24 hours, it signifies that every area on this planet has its noon at a distinct time based on the longitude of its location.

In 1884, the Worldwide Meridian Convention selected a meridian to be employed as a common zero of longitude and standard of time reckoning all through the world. It resulted in the advice of the Greenwich Meridian as the prime meridian. In addition, it has established to have 24 completely different time zones because the earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours, 15 degrees lengthyitude each hour. It means each time zone is 15 degrees longitude apart from every other.

The following map can help us to clarify those criteria:

The Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the primal meridian with zero degrees.

In East of Greenwich (Right), every 15 degrees is a time zone +1 hour.

In West of Greenwich (Left), every 15 degrees is a time zone -1 hour.

In theory, to deal with time zones would not be complicated following earlier criteria and it works properly for all cases. We’d always be able to calculate the native time in any place only based on its location, but NOT. Time zones can change:

International locations and territories that cross these artificial lines (shown on the map) decided to draw these ones differently. e.g. China is the biggest country with only 1 time zone, but it should have 5 time zones.

Some countries set clocks forward by one hour in the spring and set clocks back by one hour in autumn (DST).

Time zones are set by Governments, however governments typically change their minds.

What is GMT?

The primal meridian/main time zone.

Greenwich Imply Time or GMT is the clock time on the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London.

GMT is now not a time standard.

What is UTC?

A Customary, Not a Time Zone.

Coordinated Common Time or UTC is the first time customary by which the world regulates clocks. It makes use of highly precise atomic clocks combined with the Earth’s rotation.

This is the successor to GMT.

What’s a Time Zone?

A time zone is a geographic region where the same standard time is used (real place on the surface of the Earth). It means that it follows the same native clock, and abides the same set of timekeeping rules.

A time zone is NOT an offset from GMT or UTC. The offset is simply one characteristic of a timezone. Also, more than one offset would possibly apply, at different instances of the year. e.g Summertime and Standard Time.

What is DST?

DST is the apply of advancing clocks throughout warmer months so that darkness falls later each day according to the clock. It means to set clocks forward by one hour in the spring and set clocks back by one hour in autumn in order to return to standard time. It was first carried out for Germany through the first world war with a purpose to save energy.

This follow remains to be used in North America and Western Europe, but Russia and most of Asia and Africa international locations don’t use DST.

e.g. MST and MDT

Mountain Normal Time = UTC -07:00

Mountain Daylight Time = UTC -06:00

or GMT and BST

Greenwich Mean Time = UTC +00:00

British Summer season Time = UTC +01:00

There are two transitions, in the spring when DST takes effect, there may be an hour in local time that doesn’t exist, and a day that is only 23 hours long (transition starts). Within the fall the opposite occurs an entire hour occurs twice on the same day and that day is 25 hours long (transaction ends). It can be defined higher with this schema.

Daylight saving time shows us that we can’t decide local time based only on location. We’ve got to know if daylight saving time was in effect or particular cases that apply.

Time zones can change

Governments usually change their minds, this is the principle reason why time zones guidelines change. Time zones are set by Governments so it is predicted surprises and oddities. It’d occur for different reasons akin to commerce, religious observations, political posturing, insurrection, etc.

It implies that the time zone is determined by law so it is able to switch DST Rules, transitions, offsets, and alignments.

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