Support for Timex to replace Tzdata

[nallwhy]

I’m considering replacing tzdata with the tz library, but it’s difficult to make the switch if the tz library doesn’t provide equivalent support for the functions used in timex, which many elixir applications depend on.

Providing support for the key functions that timex uses from tzdata would make the transition much smoother and help more developers adopt tz across a wider range of applications.

function list

• Tzdata.zone_exists?/1
• Tzdata.periods_for_time/3

[mathieuprog]

I was just thinking about this again this morning. Many developers indeed stick to tzdata while it's slower and still has bugs, and I can only guess the main reason being Timex.

I intend to address this soon enough and allow for a smooth transition from Timex/tzdata to tz.

(Note that I did have a look into Timex a long time ago and found that creating a PR to support any time zone database would be too large of an effort. Therefore I'll come with an alternative solution.)

[mathieuprog]

@nallwhy Timex was created before the native calendar API had the full range of functions it offers today.

An idea is to provide a library allowing to migrate to the native apis: https://github.com/mathieuprog/tz_timex
All you would have to do is replace Timex by TzTimex.

It will generate a set of warnings guiding you on how to replace the Timex code.

Could you tell me:

• is it worth anything for you?
• if so, can I have the compile errors (there's missing implementations)?

Note that I did not publish on hex right now, you may depend on the github repo.

[nallwhy]

Thanks! I can check it in 3 days as I'm currently on holiday.

[nallwhy]

I understand the concept of TzTimex. The reason we cannot replace Timex right now is due to Timex.parse/2, which is difficult to replace with the native API.

[mathieuprog]

https://hex.pm/packages/datix
https://hex.pm/packages/date_time_parser
https://groups.google.com/g/elixir-lang-core/c/5NlpjxGVJIM

Your app or TzTimex could use one of those libraries to provide parse/2. But I'd understand if you don't want to venture into refactoring efforts to replace Timex:)

[nallwhy]

Following TzTimex and your comments, I've succeeded to remove Timex from my project. (I used datix.)
Thanks!