日期和时区（javascript，java，struts）

Question

I am sure this is a very very common problem.

I have a struts action that uses a common jquery datepicker calendar to select a date for my code to use. Problem is that our production servers live in Texas on CST, but I am in DC on EST. My web browser sends 12/6/11 12:00 AM EST (midnight) and it is interpreted as 12/5/11 11:00 PM CST by the server.

Any recommended ways to fix this?

Should I send the local browser's timezone as a parameter to my web services code?

Answer 1

If possible, always deal with UTC times internally in your code (and especially in communications between components). Convert to local time at the last possible moment before display, where you know what the user's time zone is.

In your case, convert the timestamp to UTC in the browser before sending to the server.

If you're doing something like setting appointment times in the future, beware of Daylight Saving Time, where everything gets shifted by an hour twice a year (but UTC doesn't). For example, the user will expect that setting an appointment for "next Tuesday at 2:00 pm" will work even if next Tuesday is a different UTC offset from now.