From e3ebe2e3e72155cd0e526386ac4eb970152255d7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Michael Orlitzky <michael@orlitzky.com>
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 14:04:03 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] Document weird date/time issues in the man page.

---
 doc/man1/htsn-import.1 | 131 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 131 insertions(+)

diff --git a/doc/man1/htsn-import.1 b/doc/man1/htsn-import.1
index 616f7e8..9c76165 100644
--- a/doc/man1/htsn-import.1
+++ b/doc/man1/htsn-import.1
@@ -316,6 +316,137 @@ report these as unsupported and then \(dqsucceed\(dq so that the
 offending document can be removed if desired. An example is provided
 as test/xml/weatherxml-backwards-teams.xml.
 
+.SH DATE/TIME ISSUES
+
+Dates and times appear in a number of places on the feed. The date
+portions are usually, fine, but the times often lack important
+information such as the time zone, or whether \(dq8 o'clock\(dq means
+a.m. or p.m.
+
+The most pervasive issue occurs with the timestamps that are included
+in every message. A typical timestamp looks like,
+
+.nf
+<time_stamp> May 24, 2014, at 04:18 PM ET </time_stamp>
+.fi
+
+The \(dqtime zone\(dq is given as \(dqET\(dq, but unfortunately
+\(dqET\(dq is not a valid time zone. It stands for \(dqEastern
+Time\(dq, which can belong to either of two time zones, EST or EDT,
+based on the time of the year (i.e. whether or not daylight savings
+time is in effect). Since we can't tell from the timestamp, we always
+parse these as EST which is UTC-5. When daylight savings is in effect,
+they will be off by an hour.
+
+Here's a list of the ones that may cause surprises:
+
+.IP \[bu] 2
+\fIAutoRacingResultsXML.dtd\fR
+
+The <RaceDate> elements contain a full date and time, but no time zone
+information:
+
+.nf
+<RaceDate>5/24/2014 2:45:00 PM</RaceDate>
+.fi
+
+We parse them as UTC, which will be wrong when stored,
+but \(dqcorrect\(dq if the new UTC time zone is ignored.
+
+.IP \[bu]
+\fIAuto_Racing_Schedule_XML.dtd\fR
+
+The <Race_Date> and <Race_Time> elements are combined into on field in
+the database, but no time zone information is given. For example,
+
+.nf
+<Race_Date>02/16/2013</Race_Date>
+<Race_Time>08:10 PM</Race_Time>
+.fi
+
+As a result, we parse and store the times as UTC. The race times are
+not always present in the database, but when they are missing, they
+are presented as \(dqTBA\(dq (to be announced):
+
+.nf
+<Race_Time>TBA</Race_Time>
+.fi
+
+Since the dates do not appear to be optional, we store only the race
+date in that case.
+
+.IP \[bu]
+\fIearlylineXML.dtd\fR
+
+The <time> elements in the early lines contain neither a time zone nor
+an am/pm identifier:
+
+.nf
+<time>8:30</time>
+.fi
+
+The times are parsed and stored as UTC, since we
+don't have any other information upon which to base a guess. Even if
+one ignores the UTC time zone, the time can possibly be off by 12
+hours (due to the a.m./p.m. issue).
+
+.IP \[bu]
+\fIjfilexml.dtd\fR
+
+The <Game_Date> and <Game_Time> elements are combined into on field in
+the database, but no time zone information is given. For example,
+
+.nf
+<Game_Date>06/15/2014</Game_Date>
+<Game_Time>08:00 PM</Game_Time>
+.fi
+
+As a result, we parse and store the times as UTC.
+
+The <CurrentTimestamp> elements suffer a similar problem, sans the
+date:
+
+.nf
+<CurrentTimeStamp>11:30 A.M.</CurrentTimeStamp>
+.fi
+
+They are also stored as UTC.
+
+.IP \[bu]
+\fIOdds_XML.dtd\fR
+
+The <Game_Date> and <Game_Time> elements are combined into on field in
+the database, but no time zone information is given. For example,
+
+.nf
+<Game_Date>01/04/2014</Game_Date>
+<Game_Time>04:35 PM</Game_Time>
+.fi
+
+As a result, we parse and store the times as UTC.
+
+.IP \[bu]
+\fISchedule_Changes_XML.dtd\fR
+
+The <Game_Date> and <Game_Time> elements are combined into on field in
+the database, but no time zone information is given. For example,
+
+.nf
+<Game_Date>06/06/2014</Game_Date>
+<Game_Time>04:00 PM</Game_Time>
+.fi
+
+As a result, we parse and store the times as UTC. The game times are
+not always present in the database, but when they are missing, they
+are presented as \(dqTBA\(dq (to be announced):
+
+.nf
+<Game_Time>TBA</Game_Time>
+.fi
+
+Since the dates do not appear to be optional, we store only the game
+date in that case.
+
 .SH DEPLOYMENT
 .P
 When deploying for the first time, the target database will most
-- 
2.44.2