One plain-text file runs time on every device; UCLA prof maintains tzdata as volunteer since 2005
PMinervini · x · 2026-10-17
A Long Now post highlights the story of the tz database: nearly every phone and computer on Earth relies on a single plain-text file to know the time. Whenever a country shifts its clocks on short notice — like Morocco pausing daylight saving for Ramadan — someone must update that file. Since 2005, that someone has been Paul Eggert, a UCLA computer science professor who does it as a volunteer. A data visualization linked in the post tells the full story.
Related event: Volunteer-Maintained tzdata Keeps Time for Billions of Devices(2 posts)→
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