How do I fix this test so it runs on Windows? (it uses tzset)

[Chris Withers]

Hi All,

I'd like to make test_non_gmt_timezone at the bottom of
https://secure.simplistix.co.uk/svn.../branches/1.8/testfixtures/tests/test_time.py
run on Windows, any suggestions?

cheers,

Chris

 

[Nobody]

I'd like to make test_non_gmt_timezone at the bottom of
https://...
run on Windows, any suggestions?

MSVCRT has _tzset(), which understands the TZ environment variable.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/90s5c885(VS.80).aspx

For whatever reason, tython's "time" module doesn't provide the tzset()
function on Windows. However, you should be able to use it via ctypes.

 

[Chris Withers]

MSVCRT has _tzset(), which understands the TZ environment variable.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/90s5c885(VS.80).aspx

For whatever reason, tython's "time" module doesn't provide the tzset()
function on Windows. However, you should be able to use it via ctypes.

This sounds pretty heavyweight for a unit test.
I'm not even sure how I would do this ;-)

Where can I find an example?

....or better yet, does anyone have any alternative solutions?

Chris

 

[Nobody]

This sounds pretty heavyweight for a unit test.
I'm not even sure how I would do this ;-)

from ctypes import cdll
tzset = cdll.msvcrt._tzset

Except ... Python doesn't appear to use the OS time conversion functions,
so calling _tzset() has no effect.

And the documentation doesn't specify whether modifying time.timezone is
allowed.

IOW, I don't think there's any robust way to ask "what would have happened
if TZ been set to <whatever> at startup", other than running a separate
script with the appropriate TZ setting.

You can perform conversions with an explicit timezone using the "datetime"
module, but that won't help you test the behaviour of code which uses the
"time" module.