Python 2.5.1 broken os.stat module

[Joe Salmeri]

> | > You are misinterpreting what you are seeing. Windows is not claiming
> | > that the modification time changes when DST starts. Instead, it is
> | > claiming that the *same* time now has a *different* textual
> | > representation, because the computer now has moved to a different
> | > time zone.
>
> Joe, read the last sentence again.  Most of your reply shows that you have
> missed this basic point.

My reply specifically indicated that I was referring to the textual 
presentation that Windows is showing.

I understand that a DST change and a timezone change produce the same 
results on the offset from GMT but I don't consider them the same thing.

As I attempted to describe the issue with the timestamps changing when DST 
starts/ends is not my *opinion* it is behavior that Microsoft (and others) 
have documented (and I agree with).

Consider this situation from the end user perspective.

I create a file on 01/02/2007 at 07:00 PM

Windows shows the last write time as 01/02/2007 07:00 PM

I never make any changes to the file.

Fast forward in time and it is now 06/03/2007.

When I do a directory on the file Windows now shows the last write time as 
01/02/2007 08:00 PM.

I understand WHY this is happening, but like many others do not agree with 
the behavior.

The reason Windows does this is because although my timeszone did not change 
(as far as I am concerned) DST has started (a timezone change as far as you 
are concerned) so it now shows the time as 1 hour more than it used to 
because the GMT offset has changed.

>From the end user perspective it appears this file has now been modified an 
hour later than it showed it was modifed before DST started.

Now let's look at another common user activity.

I watch this TV show on 01/02/2007 at 07:00 PM.  It comes on every day at 
07:00 PM

Fast forward in time it is now 06/03/2007.

When I watch that same show it comes on at 07:00 PM (even though DST has 
started) and if I look the TV listings it still shows that the older show on 
01/02/2007 came on at 07:00 PM.  It did not show the older show now on as 
08:00 PM which is what Windows is doing with the timestamp.

When you compare those two situations it does not make sense that Windows 
shows a different timestamp.

I would recommend reading the links in the articles where Microsoft 
documents the situation and developers for the CVS project discuss having to 
deal with the problems.

Here's a clip from the article:

        This behaviour is responsible for a flood of questions to the 
various support lists for CVS, following the first Sunday in April and the 
last Sunday in October, with
        scores of people complaining that CVS now reports erroneously that 
their files have been modified. This is commonly known as the "red file bug" 
because the
        WinCVS shell uses red icons to indicate modified files.