Re: DOCBOOK: RFE: Date Format

[David Lloyd <lloy0076@rebel.net.au>]

Damn! Confound!

> Not a good guess:

I spend too much time in blasted Unix C land where array indices being
at 0 and not 1 :-(

> 1) There is and never was a year 0 - The Common Era (C.E. a.k.a. A.D.)
>    begins in year 1.

Agreed. Wholeheartedly.

> 2) Whilst it is unlikely that the LDP would need it, it is possible
>    that people using DocBook might wish to refer to dates Before the
>    Common Era (B.C.E. a.k.a. B.C.).


Yes.

> So I suggest the valid value for the year be any non-zero interger
> (negative values to be treated as B.C.E. dates).

An alternative is that there is a setting:

<era>
</era>

Which could take a default value of AD. This has a big advantage because
it takes into account:

* Buddhist's take a different year as "Year 1"
* Islamic people take a different year as "Year 1"

And we avoid that cultural war...

DL
-- 
You're too late...