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Dating Advice for Developers

Datetime bugs are among the most common, most insidious, and unintentionally hilarious programming errors. Often, correct handling of dates is all that separates a great system from a bug-riddled disaster. Databases, APIs, browsers, and cloud platforms all handle time differently. Operating systems handle time differently. Cultures and languages represent the same date in completely different ways. Time is at once constant and unpredictable - did you know the Greenwich Observatory isn't always on Greenwich Mean Time? Worst of all, time is something users expect software to handle intuitively, despite there being no perfect answer. Understanding how all the components of a system handle dates is an unavoidable gateway on the path from novice to master. Write better software, and help your team write better software, by learning to think about dates from a 20-year industry veteran.