TZFILE
Section: Linux Programmer's Manual (5)
Updated: 2020-04-27
Page Index
NAME
tzfile - timezone information
DESCRIPTION
ds - -
The timezone information files used by
tzset(3)
are typically found under a directory with a name like
/usr/share/zoneinfo.
These files use the format described in Internet RFC 8536.
Each file is a sequence of 8-bit bytes.
In a file, a binary integer is represented by a sequence of one or
more bytes in network order (bigendian, or high-order byte first),
with all bits significant,
a signed binary integer is represented using two's complement,
and a boolean is represented by a one-byte binary integer that is
either 0 (false) or 1 (true).
The format begins with a 44-byte header containing the following fields:
- *
-
The magic four-byte ASCII sequence
identifies the file as a timezone information file.
- *
-
A byte identifying the version of the file's format
(as of 2017, either an ASCII NUL, or
or
- *
-
Fifteen bytes containing zeros reserved for future use.
- *
-
Six four-byte integer values, in the following order:
-
- tzh_ttisutcnt
-
The number of UT/local indicators stored in the file.
(UT is Universal Time.)
- tzh_ttisstdcnt
-
The number of standard/wall indicators stored in the file.
- tzh_leapcnt
-
The number of leap seconds for which data entries are stored in the file.
- tzh_timecnt
-
The number of transition times for which data entries are stored
in the file.
- tzh_typecnt
-
The number of local time types for which data entries are stored
in the file (must not be zero).
- tzh_charcnt
-
The number of bytes of time zone abbreviation strings
stored in the file.
The above header is followed by the following fields, whose lengths
depend on the contents of the header:
- *
-
tzh_timecnt
four-byte signed integer values sorted in ascending order.
These values are written in network byte order.
Each is used as a transition time (as returned by
time(2))
at which the rules for computing local time change.
- *
-
tzh_timecnt
one-byte unsigned integer values;
each one but the last tells which of the different types of local time types
described in the file is associated with the time period
starting with the same-indexed transition time
and continuing up to but not including the next transition time.
(The last time type is present only for consistency checking with the
POSIX-style TZ string described below.)
These values serve as indices into the next field.
- *
-
tzh_typecnt
ttinfo
entries, each defined as follows:
struct ttinfo {
int32_t tt_utoff;
unsigned char tt_isdst;
unsigned char tt_desigidx;
};
Each structure is written as a four-byte signed integer value for
tt_utoff,
in network byte order, followed by a one-byte boolean for
tt_isdst
and a one-byte value for
tt_desigidx.
In each structure,
tt_utoff
gives the number of seconds to be added to UT,
tt_isdst
tells whether
tm_isdst
should be set by
localtime(3)
and
tt_desigidx
serves as an index into the array of time zone abbreviation bytes
that follow the
ttinfo
structure(s) in the file.
The
tt_utoff
value is never equal to -2**31, to let 32-bit clients negate it without
overflow.
Also, in realistic applications
tt_utoff
is in the range [-89999, 93599] (i.e., more than -25 hours and less
than 26 hours); this allows easy support by implementations that
already support the POSIX-required range [-24:59:59, 25:59:59].
- *
-
tzh_leapcnt
pairs of four-byte values, written in network byte order;
the first value of each pair gives the nonnegative time
(as returned by
time(2))
at which a leap second occurs;
the second is a signed integer specifying the
total
number of leap seconds to be applied during the time period
starting at the given time.
The pairs of values are sorted in ascending order by time.
Each transition is for one leap second, either positive or negative;
transitions always separated by at least 28 days minus 1 second.
- *
-
tzh_ttisstdcnt
standard/wall indicators, each stored as a one-byte boolean;
they tell whether the transition times associated with local time types
were specified as standard time or local (wall clock) time.
- *
-
tzh_ttisutcnt
UT/local indicators, each stored as a one-byte boolean;
they tell whether the transition times associated with local time types
were specified as UT or local time.
If a UT/local indicator is set, the corresponding standard/wall indicator
must also be set.
The standard/wall and UT/local indicators were designed for
transforming a TZif file's transition times into transitions appropriate
for another time zone specified via a POSIX-style TZ string that lacks rules.
For example, when TZ="EET2EEST" and there is no TZif file "EET2EEST",
the idea was to adapt the transition times from a TZif file with the
well-known name "posixrules" that is present only for this purpose and
is a copy of the file "Europe/Brussels", a file with a different UT offset.
POSIX does not specify this obsolete transformational behavior,
the default rules are installation-dependent, and no implementation
is known to support this feature for timestamps past 2037,
so users desiring (say) Greek time should instead specify
TZ="Europe/Athens" for better historical coverage, falling back on
TZ="EET2EEST,M3.5.0/3,M10.5.0/4" if POSIX conformance is required
and older timestamps need not be handled accurately.
The
localtime(3)
function
normally uses the first
ttinfo
structure in the file
if either
tzh_timecnt
is zero or the time argument is less than the first transition time recorded
in the file.
Version 2 format
For version-2-format timezone files,
the above header and data are followed by a second header and data,
identical in format except that
eight bytes are used for each transition time or leap second time.
(Leap second counts remain four bytes.)
After the second header and data comes a newline-enclosed,
POSIX-TZ-environment-variable-style string for use in handling instants
after the last transition time stored in the file
or for all instants if the file has no transitions.
The POSIX-style TZ string is empty (i.e., nothing between the newlines)
if there is no POSIX representation for such instants.
If nonempty, the POSIX-style TZ string must agree with the local time
type after the last transition time if present in the eight-byte data;
for example, given the string
then if a last transition time is in July, the transition's local time
type must specify a daylight-saving time abbreviated
that is one hour east of UT.
Also, if there is at least one transition, time type 0 is associated
with the time period from the indefinite past up to but not including
the earliest transition time.
Version 3 format
For version-3-format timezone files, the POSIX-TZ-style string may
use two minor extensions to the POSIX TZ format, as described in
newtzset(3).
First, the hours part of its transition times may be signed and range from
-167 through 167 instead of the POSIX-required unsigned values
from 0 through 24.
Second, DST is in effect all year if it starts
January 1 at 00:00 and ends December 31 at 24:00 plus the difference
between daylight saving and standard time.
Interoperability considerations
Future changes to the format may append more data.
Version 1 files are considered a legacy format and
should be avoided, as they do not support transition
times after the year 2038.
Readers that only understand Version 1 must ignore
any data that extends beyond the calculated end of the version
1 data block.
Writers should generate a version 3 file if
TZ string extensions are necessary to accurately
model transition times.
Otherwise, version 2 files should be generated.
The sequence of time changes defined by the version 1
header and data block should be a contiguous subsequence
of the time changes defined by the version 2+ header and data
block, and by the footer.
This guideline helps obsolescent version 1 readers
agree with current readers about timestamps within the
contiguous subsequence. It also lets writers not
supporting obsolescent readers use a
tzh_timecnt
of zero
in the version 1 data block to save space.
Time zone designations should consist of at least three (3)
and no more than six (6) ASCII characters from the set of
alphanumerics,
and
This is for compatibility with POSIX requirements for
time zone abbreviations.
When reading a version 2 or 3 file, readers
should ignore the version 1 header and data block except for
the purpose of skipping over them.
Readers should calculate the total lengths of the
headers and data blocks and check that they all fit within
the actual file size, as part of a validity check for the file.
Common interoperability issues
This section documents common problems in reading or writing TZif files.
Most of these are problems in generating TZif files for use by
older readers.
The goals of this section are:
- *
-
to help TZif writers output files that avoid common
pitfalls in older or buggy TZif readers,
- *
-
to help TZif readers avoid common pitfalls when reading
files generated by future TZif writers, and
- *
-
to help any future specification authors see what sort of
problems arise when the TZif format is changed.
When new versions of the TZif format have been defined, a
design goal has been that a reader can successfully use a TZif
file even if the file is of a later TZif version than what the
reader was designed for.
When complete compatibility was not achieved, an attempt was
made to limit glitches to rarely used timestamps, and to allow
simple partial workarounds in writers designed to generate
new-version data useful even for older-version readers.
This section attempts to document these compatibility issues and
workarounds, as well as to document other common bugs in
readers.
Interoperability problems with TZif include the following:
- *
-
Some readers examine only version 1 data.
As a partial workaround, a writer can output as much version 1
data as possible.
However, a reader should ignore version 1 data, and should use
version 2+ data even if the reader's native timestamps have only
32 bits.
- *
-
Some readers designed for version 2 might mishandle
timestamps after a version 3 file's last transition, because
they cannot parse extensions to POSIX in the TZ-like string.
As a partial workaround, a writer can output more transitions
than necessary, so that only far-future timestamps are
mishandled by version 2 readers.
- *
-
Some readers designed for version 2 do not support
permanent daylight saving time, e.g., a TZ string
denoting permanent Eastern Daylight Time (-04).
As a partial workaround, a writer can substitute standard time
for the next time zone east, e.g.,
for permanent Atlantic Standard Time (-04).
- *
-
Some readers ignore the footer, and instead predict future
timestamps from the time type of the last transition.
As a partial workaround, a writer can output more transitions
than necessary.
- *
-
Some readers do not use time type 0 for timestamps before
the first transition, in that they infer a time type using a
heuristic that does not always select time type 0.
As a partial workaround, a writer can output a dummy (no-op)
first transition at an early time.
- *
-
Some readers mishandle timestamps before the first
transition that has a timestamp not less than -2**31.
Readers that support only 32-bit timestamps are likely to be
more prone to this problem, for example, when they process
64-bit transitions only some of which are representable in 32
bits.
As a partial workaround, a writer can output a dummy
transition at timestamp -2**31.
- *
-
Some readers mishandle a transition if its timestamp has
the minimum possible signed 64-bit value.
Timestamps less than -2**59 are not recommended.
- *
-
Some readers mishandle POSIX-style TZ strings that
contain
or
As a partial workaround, a writer can avoid using
or
for time zone abbreviations containing only alphabetic
characters.
- *
-
Many readers mishandle time zone abbreviations that contain
non-ASCII characters.
These characters are not recommended.
- *
-
Some readers may mishandle time zone abbreviations that
contain fewer than 3 or more than 6 characters, or that
contain ASCII characters other than alphanumerics,
and
These abbreviations are not recommended.
- *
-
Some readers mishandle TZif files that specify
daylight-saving time UT offsets that are less than the UT
offsets for the corresponding standard time.
These readers do not support locations like Ireland, which
uses the equivalent of the POSIX TZ string
observing standard time
(IST, +01) in summer and daylight saving time (GMT, +00) in winter.
As a partial workaround, a writer can output data for the
equivalent of the POSIX TZ string
thus swapping standard and daylight saving time.
Although this workaround misidentifies which part of the year
uses daylight saving time, it records UT offsets and time zone
abbreviations correctly.
Some interoperability problems are reader bugs that
are listed here mostly as warnings to developers of readers.
- *
-
Some readers do not support negative timestamps.
Developers of distributed applications should keep this
in mind if they need to deal with pre-1970 data.
- *
-
Some readers mishandle timestamps before the first
transition that has a nonnegative timestamp.
Readers that do not support negative timestamps are likely to
be more prone to this problem.
- *
-
Some readers mishandle time zone abbreviations like
that contain
or digits.
- *
-
Some readers mishandle UT offsets that are out of the
traditional range of -12 through +12 hours, and so do not
support locations like Kiritimati that are outside this
range.
- *
-
Some readers mishandle UT offsets in the range [-3599, -1]
seconds from UT, because they integer-divide the offset by
3600 to get 0 and then display the hour part as
- *
-
Some readers mishandle UT offsets that are not a multiple
of one hour, or of 15 minutes, or of 1 minute.
SEE ALSO
time(2),
localtime(3),
tzset(3),
tzselect(8),
zdump(8),
zic(8).
Olson A, Eggert P, Murchison K. The Time Zone Information Format (TZif).
2019 Feb.
Internet RFC 8536
doi:10.17487/RFC8536
COLOPHON
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