about Epochs - Thorsten Butz - PSConfEU 2024

#PoShaKucha
This video offers manually curated subtitles in English and German.
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What do you think when you read the numbers 1, 1601 or 1970?
Have you ever thougth it would simplify your life if 2 seconds made a minute, 2 minutes made an hour and 2 hours made a day?
Time formats are one of the trickiest and most error-prone things in the life of a computer scientist. So it's no wonder that PowerShell and the operating systems on which it runs are full of turbulences and steep drop-offs.
In this PoShaKucha, we explore the concept of epochs with a focus on historical moments and time measurement. We contemplate epochs as significant points in history, such as mankind's initial foray into space exploration, marking the dawn of a new era of space conquest. Delving into time measurement, we pondere the complexities of time units like seconds, minutes, hours, and days.
Considering an alternative scenario where a computer scientist like Leibniz influenced time design based on binary principles, we contemplate a different time reckoning system. Transitioning to celestial observations, we acknowledge the Earth's orbit around the Sun, giving rise to the concept of a year and the inception of calendars dating back to Julius Caesar.
In the realm of computing, we explore the ISO standard's treatment of time starting from the year 1, culminating in the year 9999. We scrutinize PowerShell's implementation of time calculations, emphasizing the significance of the Unix era, which counts seconds since January 1st, 1970, in UTC. We cautione against erroneous time representations, highlight differences in time calculation methods, and the importance of handling time intricacies with precision.
Delving deeper, we shed light on the Windows epoch commencing on January 1st, 1601, pivotal in the development of Windows NT architecture. We illustrate the Gregorian cycle spanning 400-year intervals and its relevance to Windows NT evolution. Moreover, we touch on Active Directory's use case, addressing lastLogon timestamps and the necessity of aligning timestamps correctly for accurate time representation.
Chapters:
00:00:00 Thorsten Butz - about Epochs - PSConfEU 2024
00:00:14 Introduction to Epochs
00:01:35 Observations of the Stars
00:02:11 Calendar Reform and IT Standards
00:02:55 Time in PowerShell
00:03:30 Importance of Unix Era
00:04:57 Windows NT Epoch
00:05:38 Gregorian Cycles and Active Directory
00:06:37 Tricky Aspects of Time
00:06:45 Caution with Timestamps