Re: 30-year time offset reading nonuniform matrix %s input

[Ethan M. <merritt@u.washington.edu>]

On Wednesday, April 03, 2013 11:38:27 am Tait wrote:
> 
> Consider these two examples. First:
>   reset
>   set datafile separator ","
>   set xdata time
>   set timefmt "%s"
>   set format x "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"
>   set view 47,54
>   splot '-' using 1:2:3 with impulses
>   1364987000,50,19
>   1364987000,100,1
>   1364987000,150,0
> 
>   1364990600,50,15
>   1364990600,100,4
>   1364990600,150,1
> 
>   1364942000,50,9
>   1364942000,100,5
>   1364942000,150,7
> 
>   1365001400,50,11
>   1365001400,100,7
>   1365001400,150,2
>   e
> 
> ... and second:
>   reset
>   set datafile separator ","
>   set xdata time
>   set timefmt "%s"
>   set format x "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"
>   set view 47,54
>   splot '-' nonuniform matrix using 2:1:3 with impulses
>   0,50.00,100.00,150.00
>   1364987000,19,1,0
>   1364990600,15,4,1
>   1364942000,9,5,7
>   1365001400,11,7,2
>   e
>   e
> 
> (I don't understand why the second example requires two 'e's either,
> but I digress...)
> 
> In the first case, the year is correctly set to 2013. In the second,
> it is displayed as 2043. This seems to be a mistake in the nonuniform
> matrix time input?

Does anyone know why, way back in the mists of time, gnuplot decided to 
define its own epoch boundary as 1-jan-2000 rather than use the conventional
unix epoch boundary 1-jan-1970? 
  
Did it have something to do with fitting an integer number of seconds 
in a 32-bit, or even 16-bit, integer? 

How many things would break if we did away with this 30 year disagreement?

	Ethan


-- 
Ethan A Merritt
Biomolecular Structure Center,  K-428 Health Sciences Bldg
University of Washington, Seattle 98195-7742