Global timezone conversion for disparate corporate data

• US 20040117221A1
• Filed: 12/12/2002
• Published: 06/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Beglen, William B., Derkowski, Peter M., Schmotzer, Jack K.
• Application Number:
  US10/317,535
• Publication Number:
  US 20040117221A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0637 Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting

Abstract

Method and apparatus providing global timezone conversion of date and time data from disparate corporate data wherein the conversion makes a global or corporate conversion of date and time data, and further makes program-specific conversion of date and time data for specific programs, as desired.

Claims

1. A method for providing standardized time zone conversions in a data processing system to data of the data processing system, said method comprising:

establishing by an operating system, corporate rules to apply to time data located in data processed by said data processing system;

establishing product specific rules to be applied to time data located in data processed by a specific product;

setting flags observable by a client application, said flags indicating that said corporate rules and said product specific rules have been established;

upon processing data, querying said flags for locating established corporate rules to be applied to time data;

upon processing time data by a specific product, querying said flags for locating any local rules to be applied to time data processed by in said specific product; and

while processing data by said specific product, applying said established corporate rules and/or product specific rules to time data processed by said specific product.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said time data includes date data.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said time data includes timezone data indicating the timezone where the data is being processed.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said product specific rules include local exclusions to said corporate rules.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing the time data operated on by said corporate rules and/or said product specific rules with the data processed by said operating system.

6. A system for providing standardized time zone conversions to data processed by a data processing system, said system comprising:

memory in which is stored an operating system for operating the data processing system;

at least one data storage device for storing data to be processed by said data processing system, said data including time data;

corporate rules in said memory established by said operating system to apply to said time data;

product specific rules in said memory established by a client application, said product specific rules to be applied to time data processed by a specific product;

flags in said memory indicating that said corporate rules and said product specific rules have been established; and

a routine which, while processing data by said specific product, queries said flags and applies said established corporate rules and/or product specific rules to time data processed by said specific product.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein said time data includes date data.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein said time data includes timezone data indicating the timezone where the data is being processed.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein said product specific rules include local exclusions to said corporate rules.

10. The system of claim 6 wherein said routine stores the time data operated on by said corporate rules and/or said product specific rules with the data processed by said specific product.

11. A program product usable with a system providing standardized time zone conversions in a data processing system to data of the data processing system, said program product comprising:

a computer readable medium having recorded thereon computer readable program code performing the method comprising;

establishing by an operating system, corporate rules to apply to time data located in data processed by said data processing system;

establishing product specific rules to be applied to time data located in data processed by a specific product;

setting flags observable by a client application, said flags indicating that said corporate rules and said product specific rules have been established;

upon processing data, querying said flags for locating established corporate rules to be applied to time data;

upon processing time data by a specific product, querying said flags for locating any local rules to be applied to time data processed by in said specific product; and

while processing data by said specific product, applying said established corporate rules and/or product specific rules to time data processed by said specific product.

12. The program product of claim 11 wherein said time data includes date data.

13. The program product of claim 11 wherein said time data includes timezone data indicating the timezone where the data is being processed.

14. The program product of claim 11 wherein said product specific rules include local exclusions to said corporate rules.

15. The program product of claim 11 where said method further comprises storing the time data operated on by said corporate rules and/or said product specific rules with the data processed by said operating system.