ietf-nntp Time

[Clive D.W. Feather]

I would like to propose a few extra words about time. I'm not sure where
the best place to put them is; perhaps with the DATE command.

    X.X Time

    As described in section 9.1, each article has an arrival timestamp.
    Each newsgroup also has a creation timestamp. These timestamps are
    used by the NEWNEWS and NEWGROUP commands to construct their reponses.

    The DATE command MUST return the same timestamp as is used for
    determining article arrival and group creation times. This clock
    SHOULD be monotonic, and adjustments SHOULD be made by running it
    fast or slow compared to "real" time.

    Clients can ensure that they do not have gaps in lists of articles
    or groups by using the DATE command in the following manner:

      First session:

        Issue DATE command and record result
        Issue NEWNEWS command using a previously chosen timestamp

      Subsequent sessions:

        Issue DATE command and hold result in temporary storage
        Issue NEWNEWS command using timestamp saved from previous session
        Overwrite saved timestamp with that currently in temporary storage

    In order to allow for minor errors, clients MAY want to adjust the
    timestamp back by two or three minutes before using it in NEWNEWS.

    Example:

      First session:

        [C] DATE
        [S] 111 20010203112233
        [C] NEWNEWS local.chat 20001231 235959 GMT
        [S] 230 list follows
        [S] <article.1 at local.service>
        [S] .

      Second session (the client has subtracted 3 minutes from the
      timestamp returned previously):

        [C] DATE
        [S] 111 20010204003344
        [C] NEWNEWS local.chat 20010203 111933 GMT
        [S] 230 list follows
        [S] <article.2 at local.service>
        [S] <article.3 at local.service>
        [S] .

-- 
Clive D.W. Feather  | Work:  <clive at demon.net>   | Tel:  +44 20 8371 1138
Internet Expert     | Home:  <clive at davros.org>  | Fax:  +44 20 8371 1037
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