Subject: [Tzdist] Fwd: [tz] Leap seconds

From: Martin Burnicki <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 11:35:57 +0100

Thanks.

Since there's actually a discussion whether to include leap second 
information in the new tzdist protocol, or not, I'm forwarding this to 
the tzdist mailing list.

Martin

-------- Forwarded message  --------
Betreff: 	[tz] Leap seconds
Datum: 	Wed, 3 Dec 2014 17:53:07 -0500
Von: 	Arthur David Olson <[email-masked]>
An: 	[email-masked] <[email-masked]>

Given history to date, the leap second information needed by
knowledgeable, concerned clients is, in its entirety:
      1972-06 1972-12 1973-12 1974-12 1975-12 1976-12 1977-12 1978-12 
1979-12
      1981-06 1982-06 1983-06 1985-06 1987-12 1989-12
      1990-12 1992-06 1993-06 1994-06 1995-12 1997-06 1998-12
      2005-12 2008-12
      2012-06
These are the months at the ends of which leap seconds were inserted.*
I'm confident that a way of getting the information to such clients can
be developed.

It may be prudent to wait and see if the status of the leap second
changes in 2015;
a change may obviate the need for leap second updates (though not the
need for information on past leap seconds).

      @dashdashado

*This ignores the possibility of skipped seconds, which have yet to
occur in the wild.
It also ignores niceties such as New York City, which at least once
"observed" the leap second at midnight New York time
rather than midnight UTC, making for a ball drop countdown of
"Three...two...one...leap...Happy New Year!"