iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 14/05/2025

@gnss_changes The status display on galmon.eu is none too happy. Every row with an IOD > 127 means a satellite is broadcasting 'vintage' orbital data. As in, old.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 14/05/2025

@gnss_changes Here is what the Galileo agency mailed round last week. Not easy to understand what they mean, and I guess this is by design:

NOTICE ADVISORY TO GALILEO USERS (NAGU) 2025016

DATE GENERATED (UTC): 2025-05-07 13:15

NAGU TYPE: GENERAL (NOTICE)
NAGU NUMBER: 2025016
NAGU SUBJECT: TESTING ACTIVITIES
NAGU REFERENCED TO: N/A
START DATE EVENT (UTC): 2025-05-12 06:00
END DATE EVENT (UTC): 2025-05-19 16:00
SATELLITE AFFECTED: ALL

EVENT DESCRIPTION: USERS ARE INFORMED THAT DUE TO TESTING ACTIVITIES, THE
OPEN SERVICE AND THE HIGH ACCURACY SERVICE WILL EXPERIENCE DEGRADATIONS UP
TO TEMPORARY DISRUPTION OF SERVICE FROM 2025-05-12 AT 06:00 UTC.

THE COMPLETION OF THE TESTING ACTIVITIES IS ESTIMATED TO BE ON 2025-05-19
16:00 UTC.

DURING THIS PERIOD THE SIGNAL IN SPACE IS EXPECTED TO DEVIATE FROM THE
MINIMUM PERFORMANCE LEVELS DEFINED IN THE PUBLISHED OS AND HAS SERVICE
DEFINITION DOCUMENTS AND SIGNAL IN SPACE INTERFACE CONTROL DOCUMENTS.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 13/05/2025

As I type away into the void, hoping to achieve something, I sometimes wonder if it is worth it. Do people read this stuff? There are now 222 articles on berthub.eu/articles and sometimes one of these gets read really well. But what about the "back […] [Original post on fosstodon.org]

0 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/now-how-to-g... 6614
1 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/maar-hoe-bou... 2292
2 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/a-coherent-n... 1797
3 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/the-european... 1723
4 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/dear-hosting... 1604
5 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/beware-cloud... 1461
6 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/cloud-kootwi... 882
7 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/cyber-securi... 864
8 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/out-of-offic... 855
9 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/you-can-no-l... 742
10 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/manifest-big... 658
11 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/cloud-in-soo... 582
12 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/is-europe-ju... 556
13 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/cloud-overview/ 543
14 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/taking-the-a... 516
15 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/how-tech-los... 460
16 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/beste-hoster... 446
17 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/servers-in-d... 438
18 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/reverse-engi... 424
19 https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/on-long-term... 411

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 11/05/2025

I too have an important announcement tomorrow! It is good news, so no worries.

"My next TRUTH will be one of the most important and impactful I have ever issued. ENJOY!"

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 09/05/2025

I have improved the cloud overview article with headlines that should make things somewhat clearer. Previously it was a bit of a wall of text. berthub.eu/articles/posts/cloud-ove…

However, you can still deliver services without US clouds

There are governments and companies that have concluded that it is no longer possible to do anything IT or computer related without using one of the big three US cloud providers. This conclusion comes from some circular reasoning however. There are indeed software developers that no longer function without US cloud support. And these developers will indeed tell you there is no life outside of Microsoft/Google/AWS. Europe however still has a lot of capacity to build software based on servers instead of on specific cloud services. I outlined this in Cloud Naïve: Europe and the ‘Bijenkorf’ Megascaler.
Massive outsourcing has made organizations somewhat helpless

Many organizations have over the years outsourced a lot of their IT. Even very information heavy things like banks have decided that IT and computing are not their core competence. They are now realizing they were wrong about this. However, it is very common to first outsource non-core competences, and then not know when to stop. It is extremely difficult to stop doing 80% of what you did while remaining good at the 20% you must retain. If you have no native IT skills left, you end up depending 100% on someone else’s skills, most likely from the cloud. I expand on this hard problem in Your tech or my tech: make up your mind quickly.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 23/04/2025

With some luck, I'll be presenting tomorrow. And I'll again be talking about en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Two_Cultu… "So the great edifice of modern physics goes up, and the majority of the cleverest people in the western world have about as much insight […] [Original post on fosstodon.org]

Cover of the book https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Two_Cultures - old bald man with glasses called C.P. Snow. "The two cultures and the scientific revolution".

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 23/04/2025

Thank you everyone. The answer to 'does the Microsoft Customer Lockbox protect your data against the US government' is a resounding NO. According to Microsoft that is […] [Original post on fosstodon.org]

Does Customer Lockbox protect against data requests from law enforcement agencies or other third parties?

No. Microsoft takes third-party requests for customer data seriously. As a cloud service provider, Microsoft always advocates for the privacy of customer data. In the event we get a subpoena, Microsoft always attempts to redirect the third party to the customer to obtain the information. (Read Brad Smith's blog: Protecting customer data from government snooping). We periodically publish detailed information about the law enforcement requests that Microsoft receives.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 06/04/2025

From an upcoming blog post, in which I argue that cloud providers are actually more like proprietary software providers: "These days under the guise of ‘cloud as a commodity’ we are gluing ourselves to specific suppliers, without realizing that they are not in fact supplying commodity services."

Schematic that shows how software depends on services, many of which are so integrated with what we do that they constitute an integral part of our software.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 05/04/2025

It is time to repost this (and I know Asimov was a terrible person).

People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 02/04/2025

As @Sustainable2050 likes to say, CO₂ PPM still speeding up in the wrong direction:

Graph showing the change on CO2 concentration compared to the previous year. Goes up from 1.5ppm/year to 3.5ppm for 2024. Smoothed a bit, it goes up from 1.5 to 2.5.

The PPM concentration of CO2 goes up and down according to a regular schedule. This graph shows the CO2 concentration with that regular pattern taken out, which turns it into a 'nowcast'. Clearly over 425 PPM now, but might show somewhat of a slowdown in the past year. If you want to see it and squint.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 30/03/2025

The good news is: we made it out of winter without depleting European gas storage sites! The bad news, we'll need to refill ~twice as much gas as past years to refill to healthy levels. Every new heat pump, solar panel and wind turbine will help us reach that goal more easily:

Graph showing how much energy is stored in European gas storage sites. Usually goes down until mid-April & then increases.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 29/03/2025

Even the pretty partial solar eclipse caused a (fully expected and planned for) **2GW** decrease in electricity exports from The Netherlands today. Data via ENTSO-E, TenneT, processing by me. Graphs: berthub.eu/nlelec

Graph showing a 2GW decrease in electricity exports during the partial solar eclipse

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 29/03/2025

Added some reassurance beyond the cheery 🥳 telling you there are no alerts:

Happy emoji telling us there are no alerts followed by lots of green boxes showing you what was checked

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 29/03/2025

Doing some work on my unreleased yet widely used availability & performance monitoring thing Simplomon. codeberg.org/berthubert/simplomon

Page that says 'Simplomon, alerts, NONE! and then a party emoji'.
Plus some statistics

Contents of https://codeberg.org/berthubert/simplomon

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 16/03/2025

@GossiTheDog I see something similar but wonder if they maybe aren't passing referrer information anymore.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 09/03/2025

Sometimes a graph tells a story. Every month I convert the laborious and huge XML version of the Dutch Buildings & Addresses Database, and convert it to ready to use SQLite and CSV. The big peak on the left is the download of the compressed XML. On the right […] [Original post on fosstodon.org]

Bandwidth graph showing a big 250Mbit/s download, followed some time later by a tiny upload.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 09/03/2025

Due to popular demand (really) I've had a newsletter for a little while now. Due to slightly smaller but still appreciable popular demand, the various newsletter channels now have #RSS feeds. berthub.eu/ckmailer/channel.html?ch…

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 04/03/2025

Happy to announce I'll be speaking over at Webdevcon 2025. As a non-web person I had a great time there last year, and I presented on software quality and issues. Apparently they want more of this pain. webdevcon.nl/session/small-is-beaut…

Small is beautiful: microstacks or megadependencies

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 01/03/2025

It works for some people, but it fails for (many) others:

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 01/03/2025

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov #pubmed is down, the world's database of (bio)medical research. "PubMed® comprises more than 37 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books" - it is a LIFELINE for research and medical practice.

Hmm. We’re having trouble finding that site.

We can’t connect to the server at pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

If you entered the right address, you can:

Try again later
Check your network connection
Check that Firefox has permission to access the web (you might be connected but behind a firewall)

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 24/02/2025

A Dutch government department (not sensitive) has deeplinked an image from my website on their (apparently) autoreloading intranet page. It is a good thing I'm a responsible person (ahum). Here is the number of hits/minute, clearly showing the lunch break, and […] [Original post on fosstodon.org]

Visitors/minute of a deeplinked image. Almost nothing during the weekend, peak in mornings. Small dip during lunch. More traffic in the morning than in the afternoon.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 24/02/2025

"Europe has also underestimated the geopolitical dimensions of technology, leaving itself vulnerable to dependencies and intensifying global competitive pressures. This vulnerability has become especially apparent amid rising trade wars, the resurgence of […] [Original post on fosstodon.org]

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A reluctance to embrace EU-wide cooperation in
industrial policy has also impeded progress, while
disproportionate influence from larger member states,
notably France and Germany, has undermined balance
and inclusivity. Weak EU mandates and a shortage of
digitally literate policymakers have exacerbated these
structural weaknesses. Furthermore, policies have
often prioritized short-term wins over the strategic,
long-term planning necessary for sustainable growth.
Europe has also underestimated the geopolitical
dimensions of technology, leaving itself vulnerable
to dependencies and intensifying global competitive
pressures. This vulnerability has become especially
apparent amid rising trade wars, the resurgence of
populist nationalism, and escalating geopolitical
rivalries

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 24/02/2025

Fun factoid, Microsoft #GitHub uses #AWS to store images. Make of this what you will. Sample URL (follow it): github.com/user-attachments/assets/…

$ wget https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/65fee479-e082-42ae-ad3f-7700c6583c96
--2025-02-24 09:46:36-- https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/65fee479-e082-42ae-ad3f-7700c6583c96
Resolving github.com (github.com)... 140.82.121.4
Connecting to github.com (github.com)|140.82.121.4|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 302 Found
Location: https://github-production-user-asset-6210df.s3.amazonaws.com/11290343/416095641-65fee479-e082-42ae-ad3f-7700c6583c96.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAVCODYLSA53PQK4ZA%2F20250224%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20250224T084636Z&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Signature=760b52f7d9ec48474611fc2e848126b1acf4769aded2ac5508e40cdf2bdada1a&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host [following]
--2025-02-24 09:46:36-- https://github-production-user-asset-6210df.s3.amazonaws.com/11290343/416095641-65fee479-e082-42ae-ad3f-7700c6583c96.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAVCODYLSA53PQK4ZA%2F20250224%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20250224T084636Z&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Signature=760b52f7d9ec48474611fc2e848126b1acf4769aded2ac5508e40cdf2bdada1a&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host
Connecting to github-production-user-asset-6210df.s3.amazonaws.com (github-production-user-asset-6210df.s3.amazonaws.com)|54.231.170.25|:443... connected.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 23/02/2025

US internet users are taking a huge interest in the page on how Europe can no longer trust US clouds. 10k visitors/hour, mostly from the orange site.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 19/02/2025

The legality (not wisdom) of putting European private data on US clouds hinges on the availability of the US Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. Trump neutered this board, and the European parliament has taken notice & asked the European Commission what they think:

Thorn e enma intarnctin diericeinn thic wnnl + tha Drivarc aus Galan in Minmi e e Comnittee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs = European Parliament

The Chairman IUST-SEC/LIBE D (2025) 2901 Mr Michael McGrath Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection European Commission Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200 D 300788 06.02.2025 1049 Brussels Dear Commissioner McGrath, The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE Committee) closely follows all matters linked to the European Commission’s adequacy finding for the EU-US Data Privacy Framework mechanism. It was in view of the Commission’s assessment that the European Parliament adopted its resolution of 11 May 2023 on the adequacy of the protection afforded by the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (2023/2501(RSP)). Furthermore, during a LIBE Committee mission to Washington in May 2023, LIBE Members had an opportunity to discuss EU-US data transfers with Members of the US Congress, representatives of the US Departments of Justice and Commerce, as well as the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission. One of the issues considered in the above-mentioned resolution are the competences of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), an independent body responsible for ensuring that privacy and civil liberties are safeguarded. The EU-US Data Privacy Framework established a new review mechanism, allowing individuals in the EU whose personal da

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 16/02/2025

This review is one reason why I write so many blog posts that simply restate what is obvious if you look really well. But it turns out that "seeing in front of one's nose requires a constant struggle". Orwell mentions in the review ^ that it is therefore the […] [Original post on fosstodon.org]

Medically, I believe, this manner thinking is called schizophrenia: at any rate, it is the power of holding simultaneously two beliefs which cancel out. Closely allied to it is the power of ignoring facts which are obvious and unalterable, and which will have to be faced sooner or later. It is especially in our political thinking that these vices flourish. Let me take a few sample subjects out of the hat. They have no organic connexion with each other: they are merely cased, taken almost at random, of plain, unmistakable facts being shirked by people who in another part of their mind are aware to those facts.

Hong Kong. For years before the war everyone with knowledge of Far Eastern conditions knew that our position in Hong Kong was untenable and that we should lose it as soon as a major war started. This knowledge, however, was intolerable, and government after government continued to cling to Hong Kong instead of giving it back to the Chinese. Fresh troops were even pushed into it, with the certainty that they would be uselessly taken prisoner, a few weeks before the Japanese attack began. The war came, and Hong Kong promptly fell — as everyone had known all along that it would do.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 16/02/2025

A good day to re-read George Orwell's review of Bertrand Russel's book 'Power'. "Underlying this is the idea that common sense always wins in the end. And yet the peculiar horror of the present moment is that we cannot be sure that this is so" […] [Original post on fosstodon.org]

Underlying this is the idea that common sense always wins in the end. And yet the peculiar horror of the present moment is that we cannot be sure that this is so. It is quite possible that we are descending into an age in which two and two will make five when the Leader says so. Mr. Russell points out that the huge system of organized lying upon which the dictators depend keeps their followers out of contact with reality and therefore tends to put them at a disadvantage as against those who know the facts. This is true so far as it goes, but it does not prove that the slave-society at which the dictator is aiming will be unstable. It is quite easy to imagine a state in which the ruling caste deceive their followers without deceiving themselves. Dare anyone be sure that something of the kind is not coming into existence already? One has only to think of the sinister possibilities of the radio, state-controlled education and so forth, to realize that “the truth is great and will prevail” is a prayer rather than an axiom.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 14/02/2025

I've had quite the week! Two big talks, a 1.5 hour session for a government broadcast, one parliamentary hearing, and I think I still missed something.

Bert standing at a lectern that says ABN Amro, with behind him a screen with a QR code and a title "The terrible state of cyber security"

Bert all hot and bothered about the state of dutch government digital sovereignty

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 12/02/2025

"My QR code brings the boys to the yard" - I did a presentation today where I started and ended with a QR code for a version of the presentation with additional links and notes. Apparently expectations at the beginning were low, but the peak at the end was […] [Original post on fosstodon.org]

A bandwidth graph showing two peaks, one at 15:17 or so, around 17Mbit/s, and a ~50Mbit/s peak at 15:45.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 09/02/2025

I'm no fan of the email oligopoly of Google, Microsoft and Apple. But if you care about how Gmail feels about your email, I highly recommend enabling Google Postmaster Tools for your domain. This tells you how often people flag your email as spam, if your […] [Original post on fosstodon.org]

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 01/02/2025

Many media & posters apparently have the urge from time to time to inform us they think that Trump is not *all* bad. Here is some wisdom from 2017.

issuing correction on a previous post of mine, regarding the terror group ISIL. you do not, under any circumstances, "gotta hand it to them"

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 28/01/2025

Always good to go to the source - even on modest hardware you can use Ollama to run different versions of DeepSeek-R1. It sure is long winded in its thinking! This is the 70b version:

>>> What is the dutch term for endoplasmic reticulum?
Okay, so the user asked, "What is the Dutch term for endoplasmic reticulum?" I need to figure this out. First, I know that the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a
part of a cell, involved in protein synthesis and transport.

The user might be someone studying biology or medicine who needs to translate terms into Dutch for their studies or work. Maybe they're preparing for an exam,
writing a paper, or collaborating with Dutch-speaking colleagues.

I should recall the correct scientific terminology in Dutch. I remember that many biological terms are similar across languages because they often come from
Latin or Greek roots. So "endoplasmic reticulum" likely has a direct translation.

Breaking it down: "Endoplasmic" relates to the endoplasm, which is part of the cytoplasm inside the cell. In Dutch, "plasma" would be the same, and "endo-"
means internal. So "endoplasma" makes sense.

"Reticulum" comes from Latin for "little net," so in Dutch, it's probably "reticulum." Putting it together, I think the term is "endoplasmatisch reticulum."

I should confirm this to make sure there isn't a more common or alternative term used in Dutch scientific contexts. Maybe checking a reliable source or
dictionary would be good, but based on my knowledge, that's the most accurate translation.

So, the user likely needs the correct term for academic or professional purposes, and providing "endoplasmatisch reticulum" should meet their needs.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 25/01/2025

Amount of energy left in Europe's gas storages. We should not get a cold February. Usually this linear prognosis is quite pessimistic late January since the weather improves in February and March. Best be hoping this is true this year as well. Data from GIE Europe. www.gie.eu

Graph showing how much energy there is in Europe's gas storage sites. Going up and down from 120 GW year in peak to 40 Gwyear in bad years. Current linear prediction is that the storage will be at -20% in April.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 23/01/2025

"So how long have you been into cyber" - apparently since October 1989. I must have been insufferable if I read this correctly! Using the PowerC compiler no less! www.mixsoftware.com/product/powerc.…

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 22/01/2025

The GPS augmented landing system in Europe appears to be degraded tonight. Only the parts in red are working well if I understand it correctly. Second image is what this normally looks like. egnos.gsc-europa.eu/aviation-portal…

map of europe mostly showing ~70% availability

Map of europe mostly showing >99.9% availability

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 19/01/2025

So I run this parliamentary monitoring site, and most bots are welcome to trawl it. I spent a lot of (OCR) time making those documents accessible, so have at it. But what really gets my goat is if you try to anonymously crawl the whole site while pretending […] [Original post on fosstodon.org]

visitor/s second graph showing ever more traffic, and then suddenly 75% less.

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 19/01/2025

Also for your mental health, I recommend never reading the source code for the various implementations of mktime() and strptime(). The authors really try their best, but on reading that, you worry how anything ever works. github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master…

https://github.com/bminor/glibc/blob/master/time/mktime.c

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 18/01/2025

Similarly, if your copy of the strptime() manpage left you with any hope on what it would do for you wrt timezones, I can highly recommend pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/97999… "%z: The effect of this offset, if any, on the […] [Original post on fosstodon.org]

The effect of the s conversion is unspecified because existing implementations differ in behavior. Some do a conversion equivalent to gmtime(), ignoring all available timezone information; some do a conversion equivalent to localtime(), using the same timezone it would use and ignoring any timezone information provided by a z or Z conversion. Although none has been observed, there may be existing (or future) implementations that use timezone information provided by a z or Z conversion, although using the latter would not be reliable as timezone names are often ambiguous. Applications that need to convert a seconds since the Epoch value to a tm structure should call gmtime() or localtime() (or their thread-safe equivalents) directly.

The effect of the z conversion is unspecified because existing implementations differ in behavior. Some just use it to set the tm_gmtoff member of the tm structure; some use the value to adjust the other field members to represent UTC, convert the resulting time to a seconds since the Epoch value, and then convert back to a tm structure by the equivalent of localtime(). An application that needs either of these behaviors should perform the necessary processing explicitly itself.

Although the Z conversion might be expected to set the tm_zone member of the tm structure, no existing implementation has been found that sets it. Applications that need it set should set it explicitly after calling strptime().

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 18/01/2025

I have finally found an up to date standard that covers mktime(), pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/97999… - and in it we learn that on error mktime returns the valid timestamp -1 (which happened in 1969 UTC). To detect if this […] [Original post on fosstodon.org]

The mktime() function shall return the calculated time since the Epoch encoded as a value of type time_t. If the time since the Epoch cannot be represented as a time_t [CX] [Option Start] or the value to be returned in the tm_year member of the structure pointed to by timeptr cannot be represented as an int, [Option End] the function shall return the value (time_t)-1 [CX] [Option Start] and set errno to [EOVERFLOW], and shall not change the value of the tm_wday component of the structure. [Option End]

[CX] [Option Start] Since (time_t)-1 is a valid return value for a successful call to mktime(), an application wishing to check for error situations should set tm_wday to a value less than 0 or greater than 6 before calling mktime(). On return, if tm_wday has not changed an error has occurred. [Option End]

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bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦 @bert-hubert.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 17/01/2025

This from MUSL is entertaining:

$case 'z': if (*s == '+') neg = 0; else if (*s == '-') neg = 1; else return 0; for (i=0; i<4; i++) if (!isdigit(s[1+i])) return 0; tm->__tm_gmtoff = (s[1]-'0')*36000+(s[2]-'0')*3600 + (s[3]-'0')*600 + (s[4]-'0')*60; if (neg) tm->__tm_gmtoff = -tm->__tm_gmtoff; s += 5; break; case 'Z': if (!strncmp(s, tzname[0], len = strlen(tzname[0]))) { tm->tm_isdst = 0; s += len; } else if (!strncmp(s, tzname[1], len=strlen(tzname[1]))) { tm->tm_isdst = 1; s += len; } else { /* FIXME: is this supposed to be an error? */ while ((*s|32)-'a' <= 'z'-'a') s++; } break;$

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