Re: How to set multi timezone for user in one AS/400 ? -- MIDRANGE-L

<snip>
 1. You would want commands/APIs/panels that accept time input parameters 
to recognize that they are local time values and then normalize these 
values internally to a standard such as UTC.

2. You would want command/APIs/panels/reports that return time values to 
convert internal time values (UTC) to the proper time zone for the user 
job.

3. You would want commands and APIs that return time values to persistent 
objects such as *OUTFILES, *USRSPCs, etc. to add UTC time fields in 
addition to the current time fields (which would return local job time 
values for compatibility reasons). This is so that other jobs that might 
access the *OUTFILE, *USRSPC, etc would not have to concern themselves 
with knowing what time zone was in use when the *OUTFILE,*USRSPC was 
populated -- they can just use the new UTC fields and convert to whatever 
time zone they prefer to work in (conversion APIs were provided in V5R3). 
Retrieve interfaces may also be enhanced to return UTC fields but this is 
not as important is it is for *OUTFILEs and *USRSPCs -- you may however 
want a Retrieve interface such as retrieve journal entries to provide UTC 
values in addition to local values for the reasons given above.

4. You would want database to allow the definition of a timestamp field 
such that it is normalized at input/output/update to a standard time such 
as UTC. 
You would want applications reading the file to have the time values 
automatically converted from the normalized value to the local job time 
zone value, and on update/output automatically converted from local job 
time to a standard time.  Conceptually this would be similar to CCSID 
processing of character fields within database.

5. You would want extensions to existing objects and commands so that you 
can control what time zone a given job is running in. This might include 
area such as job descriptions, user profiles, commands such as SBMJOB, 
CHGJOB, etc.

You would most likely want a whole lot but the above gives a general feel 
for what's needed to do this type of support "right".   For sure I 
wouldn't say that "they don't have much further to go".  :)  And while 
there might be a big switch somewhere, I don't see how it could be flipped 

"on" until all the parts are in place.  Otherwise there would be a major 
incompatibility for any parts of the system that weren't ready when the 
switch was set and then tried to support job level time zones in a later 
release.
</snip>

So do we think IBM has put some thought in to this particular topic???  It 
never fails to amaze me when we make suggestions on how to change 
something as simple as the time of a job, that the full ramifications of 
doing it on an integrated system like the System i  can get so involved. 
As for me, I can wait for IBM to do it right..

Thanks for the short course of internal time management Bruce!

Since LPAR is so easy and becoming relatively inexpensive, I think LPAR is 
the best method for now. 

Jim