[PBP-pm] Working with dates

[Bruce McKenzie]

I'm certainly no expert -- but some of the people who use your code 
won't be, either. Until I started using the DateTime module, I always 
had to review the documentation and scratch my head a lot to read or 
write any code involving dates. Now, I only have to to look in the 
DateTime dox every so often, and, occasionally, look up a timezone. I 
strongly advise standardizing on DateTime, and use other modules only 
when the need for speed or imprecision (Date::Manip understands "last 
Wednesday") is paramount.

I *hadn't* thought about whys and wherefores of the "America/LosAngeles" 
method before -- so I found the comment below interesting.


> 
> Yes, although it's "America/Los_Angeles". It may seem strange, but  
> think of it this way: If you set it to +0800, what time zone is that?  
> Daylight savings or standard time? These things have an effect, even  
> within an offset. Offsets should be considered, at best, a rough  
> approximation. The Olson database is considered the standard, IIRC.
> 
> 
Cheers

Bruce