[Ovmsdev] Default values and fields...

[Stephen Casner]

Greg,

I think your complaints are unfounded.  Right under the field in the
Vehicle config page where you enter the timezone are two web links,
the first giving a list of strings for various locations and the
second pointing to the specification for the string.  This tells the
user what input is expected.

Now, I concede this is not perfect because in the first link the
US/Canada strings are not complete (e.g. just "PST8PDT" rather than
"PST8PDT,M3.2.0/2,M11.1.0") and I don't know what the code does in
that case.  Perhaps we can find another link that gives the complete
strings for a more complete list of locations.  And the second link is
fine for geeks but may not be for the average user.

Furthermore, I think your expectation that most people understand
their timezone in numerical format is not correct.  Even those who
know that the difference between PST and GMT is 8 hours might be
uncertain whether they should enter 8 or -8.  And many do not know
whether DST means that number should be 7 or 9.  Just as a test, I
asked my wife; she did not know.

And for anyone using OVMS for scheduling, having it not handle the DST
shift automatically is a real liability.  If we did accept a simple
numeric format, users in zones with DST would have to change the
config twice a year.  That's a pain.  I compare it to the cheap little
DVR box I use.  It requires that I set or clear a DST checkbox at the
beginning and end of summer.  More than once I have forgotten this and
missed my intended recording.

                                                        -- Steve