July 26, 2005

More daylight-saving time means problems for developers

Extension of daylight-saving time could trip up internal clocks in applications and gadgets

A pending energy bill expected to soon gain approval from the U.S. Congress means some programmers will once again need to check over their software code for potential problems handling a calendar adjustment. Congress is proposing a four-week extension of daylight-saving time (DST), a move that could trip up applications and gadgets programmed to adjust their internal clocks according to the "summer time" schedule the U.S. has kept for nearly two decades.

The IT industry will have plenty of time to prepare for the change: The extension would take effect one year after enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which likely means a 2007 start date for the new DST schedule. The energy bill won approval Tuesday in a joint U.S. Senate and House of Representatives conference committee, and is expected to soon pass the full Congress and move on to the White House.

The change would shift DST's start from April back to March and move its end from October to November. Those extra few weeks of DST will save 100,000 barrels of oil a day, according to legislators backing the change.

It will also confuse programs set to automatically handle DST hours. Summer time changes, observed in patchwork fashion around the world, have always been an annoyance for programmers and systems administrators: Online support groups are full of work-arounds and suggestions for an assortment of DST-related glitches. For example, Cisco Systems' technical support has pages of detailed technical information on solving DST problems afflicting its servers and routers, while Oracle's online discussion forum is filled with posts from developers seeking help handling esoteric DST challenges.

Many applications rely on the operating system to maintain an accurate clock, meaning Microsoft will play a critical role in keeping the world's computers running on time if DST hours change. The company says it's not worried. "We're aware of the upcoming change, and will make sure that Windows handles the transition smoothly," said Peter Houston, Microsoft's senior director of servicing strategy, in a written statement.

"Smoothly" doesn't necessarily translate to "flawlessly." Microsoft's support Web site contains dozens of articles related to DST hiccups, varying from broad problems -- some multiprocessor computers running Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4 or 5 have trouble adjusting to DST -- to minor oddities. In Windows Millennium Edition, the operating systems' DST adjustment accidentally reset HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) wallpaper background images to a bitmap file.

Still, no one in the industry is expecting Y2K-bug-like chaos and expense. Representatives from research firms Gartner and Forrester Research said none of their analysts are studying the impact of a DST schedule change, while several major vendors said the effects would be slight. "We view the proposed change in DST as minor," said Computer Associates International Inc. spokesman Bob Gordon. "Most of our products rely on the operating system DST determination. When the operating systems are updated to recognize the new dates, most of our products would automatically use the updated information."

Close

On Twitter now

Applications

Powered by Twitter

On Twitter now

additional resources
White Paper - How to Improve Delivery of Advanced Web Applications

White Paper

Virtual Workforce: The Key to Expanding The Business While Cutting Costs

Get the independent advice and expertise you need to support a virtual workforce.

Go inside:
The three-step approach to making a virtual workforce a reality.
The four flavors of client virtualization technologies.
The three key initiatives that solve IT challenges.
Download now »
White Paper: Successfully Secure Your Wireless LAN With Wi-Fi firewalls.

White Paper

Addressing Linux Threats Leveraging Fewer Resources

The increase in Linux popularity has increased the frequency and sophistication of malware attacks. Read this 2 page white paper now to learn how you can protect your Linux environment with real-time protection that is certified by all major Linux vendors.

Download now »
White Paper - The 2009 Handbook of Application Delivery

White Paper

The 2009 Handbook of Application Delivery

Ensuring acceptable application delivery will become even more difficult over the next few years. As a result, IT organizations need to ensure that the approach that they take to resolving the current application delivery challenges can scale to support the emerging challenges. This handbook elaborates on the key tasks associated with planning, optimization, management and control and provides decision criteria to help IT organizations choose appropriate solutions.

Download now »
White Paper - Is Your Backup System Outdated?

White Paper

Mid-range Storage Considerations

A common misconception is that mid-range storage requirements are dramatically different than that of a larger enterprise. Mid-range storage users may require less capacity, but they have similar functionality and management requirements. This ESG paper examines mid-range storage needs and reviews a new solution that adjusts size while retaining value, performance and functionality.

Download now »

Applications Newsletter

Stay informed of the latest news and technologies around application, project and performance management.

White paper

Turn Your IT Department into a Lean Machine

Like any valuable resource, IT is a terrible thing to waste. But by applying the same lean techniques that have been used to streamline manufacturing processes, IT departments can reduce costs, improve performance and better manage resources.

Download now! »

Podcast

Economy Makes Automation a Must-Have Tech for 2009

Stephen Elliot, vice president of strategy for CA's Infrastructure Management and Data Center Automation business unit, explains why difficult economic times drive the need for simplified management capabilities and advanced automation tools.

Listen now! »

White paper

What You Need to Know About Virtual Infrastructure Management - Now

According to a recent study CA conducted with 300 CIOs and top IT executives, 64 percent of respondents say they've already invested in virtualization, and the other 36 percent reported that they plan to invest in virtualization.

Download now! »

Webcast

Leveraging Virtualization and Process Automation

In this video learn about process automation in a virtualized world. How CA and VMware are enabling enterprise datacenter automation.

View now! »
©1994-2010 Infoworld, Inc.