Re: timestamp patch to extend legal range of dates. - Mailing list pgsql-patches

From Tom Lane
Subject Re: timestamp patch to extend legal range of dates.
Date
Msg-id 14658.1044374557@sss.pgh.pa.us
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: timestamp patch to extend legal range of dates.  (Oliver Elphick <olly@lfix.co.uk>)
Responses Re: timestamp patch to extend legal range of dates.  (Rod Taylor <rbt@rbt.ca>)
List pgsql-patches
Oliver Elphick <olly@lfix.co.uk> writes:
> On Tue, 2003-02-04 at 04:41, Tom Lane wrote:
>> This seems like rather an odd choice.  Isn't the 1752 date commonly
>> recognized as the start of Gregorian dating?

> [ historical calendars are a mess ]

True.  So if I've got this straight:

    Oct 15, 1582 = Gregorian changeover in Catholic countries
    Sep 14, 1752 = changeover in Britain and her colonies
    various other dates in other places

However, that doesn't mean we should just toss a coin to decide which
behavior to follow.  John says that there is a precedent for using
1752 (but which Unix are you speaking of here, John?  Most of 'em don't
keep time before ~1900, period).  I'd be inclined to follow that
precedent not strike out on our own.

Also, given that the majority of Postgres users are (so far as I can
tell) in English-speaking countries, the 1752 date seems most useful
to the majority.

I suppose we could contemplate making the switch occur on a date
determined by LC_TIME ;-) ... but I don't think I wanna go there ...

            regards, tom lane

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