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Re: bug#11115: linux date arithmetic
From: |
Eric Blake |
Subject: |
Re: bug#11115: linux date arithmetic |
Date: |
Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:59:28 -0600 |
User-agent: |
Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:11.0) Gecko/20120316 Thunderbird/11.0 |
On 03/28/2012 03:23 PM, Bruno Haible wrote:
> Eric Blake wrote:
>> the parser is faced with an ambiguity between:
>>
>> (11:38 +1) minute
>> 11:38 (+1 minute)
>
> What is the first interpretation meant to mean?
The time 11:38 in the timezone UTC+1, plus the unit represented by 'minute'.
> "10:38 minute" or "12:38 minute" is not a time designation I have ever heard
> in spoken nor written English.
True, 'minute' in isolation, without a 'plus one' qualifier, is unusual;
but we have to continue to parse it in isolation since scripts may now
be relying on it.
>
> If you ditch this interpretation, there is no ambiguity.
Yes, we're in violent agreement here: the added context of a +1 (and in
particular, of a '+ 1' with a space after the +), should indeed favor
the spoken preference of a time with no timezone, followed by a
completed relative designation; rather than of a relative designation
with only an implied quantity. It's just that getdate.y is a hairy mess
to properly implement that change without breaking other worthwhile
constructs, so I won't be the one volunteering.
--
Eric Blake address@hidden +1-919-301-3266
Libvirt virtualization library http://libvirt.org
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