[fitsbits] Draft WCS Paper V: Time

[Rob Seaman]

On Apr 6, 2009, at 4:36 PM, Steve Allen wrote:

> On Mon 2009-04-06T16:20:05 -0700, Rob Seaman hath writ:
>> 6) Section 3.1.1, 3rd para, 1st bullet - the discussion of the
>> Gregorian calendar may want to include a reference to the old-style/
>> new-style confusion in the English speaking world.
>
> This issue is implicit in the ordering and table examples within the
> ISO 8601 standard.  It is also treated in detail by the reference to
> Herschel, whose work is the 19th century equivalent of a computer
> program with worked examples and caveats.
>
> This is not much different than the requirement that the use of GMT in
> FITS be translated such that it means "reckoned from midnight".
>
> Do you believe that the correct implementation of this standard
> will be impaired without an explicit reiteration of the content
> of the references?

If I have the double negative interpreted correctly, no, I do not  
believe that.  The only references cited in 3.1.1 are Bunclark & Rots  
and pope Greg.  Everybody should read the former (a cogent explication  
of Y2K issues).  Few will read the latter, however.

FITS, of course, is a shining example of an open standards process.   
ISO 8601 is anything but.  It sounds like the Herschel reference is  
equivalent to a standard defined by source code.  These certainly  
should be cited if they clarify the 1582 reference, but if these are  
really the best references in the literature over the intervening four  
centuries on this important historical issue, then this suggests a  
topic for some future paper.  I doubt paper V is that paper, however.

Rob