[Ovmsdev] Default values and fields...

[Michael Balzer]

Greg,

I haven't found a web site that offers a simple timezone string generator, your links also don't provide that.

I can include a list of standard zones for the main regions/capital cities into the web UI. Can you provide that?

Thanks,
Michael


Am 23.05.2018 um 01:36 schrieb Greg D.:
> Hi Steve, all,
>
> This totally highlights the problem.  No offense intended to the developers (myself included), but we've not structured the product very well for "normal"
> folks who are somewhat technical, but have no inside knowledge of the product, prior versions, Linux, ESP-IDF, etc. 
>
> How was I to know what to put in the Timezone field?  Bear with me as I walk through my troubled mental process...  And please take this as me trying to be
> helpful.
>
> // Begin Rant
>
> So, I've seen configuration screens a bazillion times asking for timezone.  If there's not a pull-down, usually I would put in -7 for the US Pacific Daylight
> Time that I'm in right now, or -8 if on Standard Time, and make a mental note to change it next fall.  Not a big deal; there are a dozen "clocks" here at the
> house that need semi-yearly care.  What's one more?  Sometimes the config would be -8 with a checkbox for enabling DST.  More recent product config screens
> sometimes use cities, with Los Angeles being our "local" example.  That's been the set, so glancing at (but not truly understanding the implications of) the
> fine print on the configuration screen, I simply put in my -7 and moved on.  It's been that way for weeks, and I never noticed anything wrong until I saw the
> "GMT" reference on the Time at Boot status that I recently added.  Should have been "PDT".  Something's wrong.  Playing the ever-so-observant beta tester, I
> dig in...
>
> So, back to the config screen I went.  First, where was it?  I was doing a firmware update, but it's not there, and there's no General config tab.  Nothing
> labeled "Time".  Finally found it under Vehicle.  Really?  I see my -7 still sitting there, so it wasn't lost.  Finally I re-read the comment about a web link
> to "Example Timezone Strings", and think, huh, I guess there must be some other way to say "-7".  I click on the link, and scan down the table.  It says USA &
> Canada, Pacific Time, and PST8PDT.  Odd, but ok.  Copy & paste.  Hit Save.  Go back to the status page, and see PDT on the aforementioned boot status line. 
> Also see the upgrade was done yesterday afternoon, and realize that was 2am GMT, so I guess it checks out.  Annoying, but DONE.
>
> Now you tell me I'm /not done/, and that I really needed to click on the second link to the man page on glibc?  And /understand/ it? Then research what the
> rules for DST computation are in my country, state, and so forth, to craft some sort of command lingo for the TZ engine?
>
> Reality check here.  My HP 100LX palmtop, manufactured in */1992,/* does a better job at handling this.  We've taken a simple task of entering a small, well
> known signed integer, and turned it into an exercise in POSIX programming and international politics.  This for a parameter that has little, if any,
> consequence on the daily operation of the product as I currently use it.
>
> // End Rant
>
> With a grateful acknowledgment to Michael for his awesome work on the Webserver UI, I think we should take a pass through the configuration steps with an eye
> towards making this as turn-key as possible.  I understand that he's made some significant changes to the UI since my module arrived (back on .003 code), so
> the improvements in initial config have not been reflected in what I am running now (since the config has already been set).  As I noted in my previous email,
> I will blow my module back to factory defaults and start over, looking for places where we might improve things. 
>
> I know that the V3 OVMS module is a VAST improvement over the prior versions, even without having experienced them myself.  But to reach a broader audience,
> we need to continually look to improve the setup / configuration experience, especially as we add new and even more powerful features. 
>
> Greg
>
>
> Stephen Casner wrote:
>> On Tue, 22 May 2018, Greg D. wrote:
>>
>>> Oh, almost...  My timezone was also wrong.  It was set to -7 like I do
>>> everywhere else, instead of PST8PDT.  Where did that come from?  My only
>>> clue to this was that the new boot status display of time at last boot
>>> said GMT instead of PDT.
>> Because the ESP-IDF system does not have all the compiled-in timezone
>> code, we need to specify how to manage daylight saving time using the
>> long value for the TZ parameter.  So not even PST8PDT is sufficient,
>> you need "PST8PDT,M3.2.0/2,M11.1.0".
>>
>>                                                         -- Steve
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>
>
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Michael Balzer * Helkenberger Weg 9 * D-58256 Ennepetal
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