Elein <elein@nextbus.com> writes:
> The way it is puts the burden entirely on the client to figure out
> what timezone the data is for and force the appropriate
> timezone( 'MST', value) formatting to it for arithmetic and display.
Huh?
It seems like you are entirely missing the point. The idea is that
the client storing a time value presents it in his local timezone;
the internal storage is an *absolute* time (independent of any timezone
... the fact that the internal representation is GMT is merely a remnant
of 18th-century British imperialism); and any client who asks for the
value gets it presented in *his* local timezone.
If you think this makes the clients' job harder rather than easier,
then you're either thinking about it all wrong or you have a very
peculiar set of requirements. Perhaps you could explain why the above
mind-set doesn't work for you.
regards, tom lane