Subject: Re: Lisp Date arithmetic library From: Erik Naggum <erik@naggum.net> Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 20:55:20 GMT Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp Message-ID: <3234113720055313@naggum.net> * Julian Stecklina | Why are these the _only_ correct ways of displaying date and time? ISO 8601. | This Euro-format date and "military" time is quite common in Europe. Right, pretend it is "Euro-format". *sigh* It was used in Japan before Europe adopted it. | (I do not like 2002-6-26... I keep using 26.6.2002 just as I speak) YECCH! Yeah, I hate that, too. However, 2002-06-26 is correct. I reply "fem på halv" if somebody asks me the time of day and my watch says 18:24:15. Writing times in this spoken manner is retarded, because it lacks all the context of the verbal communication. (Note that I did not say which hour it was, and rounded off to the nearest 5-minute interval.) Writing is all about retaining _more_ context than voice communication normally does. This is why it is hard to write as you speak and speak as you write, and why nobody should _ever_ try to do it, either. | But in the USA it is common to use a.m./p.m. for times (ok, it's really | cumbersome, but they like it *g*) and "their" date format. Who cares? Provincialism at its worst. We have international standards to avoid the problem of trying to figure out more context than we need to use a value. Like, I have to know which goddamn country some English writer is from in order to figure out which day of the year he is talking about. I mean, did anything interesting happen on November 9? I cannot recall _anything_ from November 9. Why are you Americans so upset over November 9? I don't get it. However, some people appear to be generally context-free, and are completely unaware of the total lack of value in writing down things just like they say them to people who regularly have to ask for or already know major parts of the answer. But who cares? I tell you who cares. There are lots of people around the world who care about international standards in all sorts of areas, and they have actually made serious headway into many areas previously left to random local decisions. And, in time, standards will save mankind from its local follies. But first, Microsoft must be destroyed. -- Guide to non-spammers: If you want to send me a business proposal, please be specific and do not put "business proposal" in the Subject header. If it is urgent, do not use the word "urgent". If you need an immediate answer, give me a reason, do not shout "for your immediate attention". Thank you.