Correct way to write 24 hour-time? Decimalpoint too.

Sat May 27 15:32:17 UTC 2006

15:32

Ignoring computers leaves military and aviation as users of 24 hour time.

By their convention, when written, the time would be 1816Z if in UTC, some other letter if a different time zone.

When spoken, it would be eighteen sixteen zulu if in UTC, or eighteen sixteen local.

That was not my intention. I am thinking of this purely for use by the layman.

As this forum is accessed by computer then I wanted to be clear that wideley used Unix or Microsoft time formats (however standard in computing) are not relevant here.

You would not put in "hours" or "hrs" then to qualify "15:32"?

Then you are SOL since "layman" don't use 24 hour time and it confuses most of them.

24 hour time is not relevant at all to most people.

For those that it is, I gave you the convention.

For a time to be meaningful to geographically separated people, you also need to account for time zones. Those too confuse "layman".

To avoid confusing it with weeks or fortnights perhaps?

The ":32" isn't in hours.

On a sunny day (Sat, 27 May 2006 16:24:09 +0100) it happened Alex Coleman wrote in :

18:16 hr

Yes. RFC 2822. You're soaking in it now!

RFC 2822 is like RFC 822, except it keeps working after AD 99.

Oh. Well, I suppose you could make two semaphore flags and hold them at various angles to indicate which way the big hand and little hand go.

Hey, have you met our friend "Mr. 999 Centillion"? Maybe you and he could refer to a computer convention together. Or perhaps a "Star Trek" convention.

By the way, "16" is not a very good way to write "11", unless you're using base 5, in which case you're going to go to jail for trying to use the digit "6" which doesn't even exist in base 5. Stop trying to confuse the issue with imaginary digits!

By using the sharp end of the pencil, not the rubber end. Remember, if it's a "6H" pencil, the "H" stands for "Hard", so you might want to start with an "Easy" pencil. Less chance of poking your eye out.

Of course, 'cause England doesn't use decimals any more. They use Metric. So a comma is no longer called a "point" but a dot is now called a "comma" which is why in England "dot com" is pronounced "comma dotta". That's also in one of the RFCs, probably the one down the street from me that used to be a Popeye's.

Now that's an impressive trick. How did they keep it from blowing away? Also, how much does it reduce your postage if you write a whole letter using that special ink that hovers in the air? Are you Harry Potter?

Halfway up the one to the left, or halfway up the one to the right? This is important because you might have multiple sizes of digits if you want your gasoline's price to end in "point nine point nine point nine".

-- K.

So do you have any exciting math theories based on the research of Jack Bauer?

"Definitive" means how you define it.

| | I want to leave out the seconds. Also note that I am NOT referring | to computer conventions of any sort.

So leave them out. Nobody is forcing you to put them in.

| | QUESTION: If it is 11 minutes past six in the evening then what is | the correct format? | | 1816 hrs | 18:16 hrs | 18:16 hours | 18:16 h | 18:16 | 18.16 | 18-16 |

Any of hhmm hrs hh:mm hrs hh:mm hours hh:mm h hh:mm hh.mm hh-mm

18:11

I dunno how you got from 11 minutes past to 16 minutes past.

| Does it vary between being written by a word processor and by hand?

I noted that you are NOT referring to computer conventions of any sort.

| See below. | | (2) What is the correct way to write a decimal point?

Is that by ballpoint, fountain pen, pencil, chalkstick, typewriter, on a barn door, on paper, in a movie, or some other media? Some people simply stab the implement, others write a tiny circle.

| I am English | and that means that a comma is not the correct symbol for the decomal | point.

I am part Welsh, part English, but that doesn't prevent me from reading Deutsch (I don't speak it well, though). "Beispiele ähnlicher Art, sowie die mißlungenen Versuche, eine Bewegung der Erde relativ ..."

| But ISTR that when the decimal point was written by hand it was in | the air about half the height of the digits. Typewriters and word | prorcessors did not offer that half-way character so a full stop was | used. But is it more correct to handwrite the decimal point as half | way up the height of the digits?

Err... yes. Oops, I used three decimal points as periods (or as full stops) together as an ellipsis.

wonder if you'll see the difference? The spacing between the dots isn't quite right.

Get over your hang-up, all you really need is to be understood and English is known worldwide. Those that pretend not to understand are trolls, those that do not understand are either morons or simply uneducated. Learn their language or wait until they learn English. In the meantime continue to write in English. Androcles

| | | -- | | posted to 3 groups whose members probably | need to be accurate about time recording

Why complicate it... one typically knows what it mean from the context in which it is used.

Depends on how you define "most people". You may be right as long as you stick to your island :-)

The "rest of the world" uses 24 hours time :-)

17:45:03 GMT

HTH. C.

The majority of the people in a civilian supermarket, shopping mall or movie theater.

Start asking people at random after noon what time it is.

How many respond in 24 hour time?

1816 hrs = 75 days and 16 hours. 18:16 = 1 + 1 / 8, so this needs correction - although it is common on digital watches. 18.16 = 18 + 16 / 100, so this is not true. 18-16 = 2. What about 18 hours 16 minutes 38 seconds, and shortened 18 h 16 min 38 sec, or oldfashioned 18 h ( but the "h" put in upper case) 16 ' 38 '' ? Hero

Typical... Five minutes in error.

18:11 hr

I don't know for sure what country YOU live in. And what you mean by "civilian" ;-).

Did that all my life ...

60 to 80 percent (in this part of the world).

German rule*) is the use of one point and the word "Uhr" e.g. 17.30 Uhr , or 19.20 Uhr, 23.45 Uhr in any written text.

C.

*) Includes Austria, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg ... and a couple of other European countries. The word "Uhr" may vary according to the local language.

And yes, I know that Americans think that's just for use in the military :->

ISO 8601

I was wondering when someone would pick up the troll.

| > Typical... Five minutes in error. | > 18:11 hr | | I was wondering when someone would pick up the troll.

They do not pay attention to detail. This is a more serious and costly trawl by the worst troll:

| -- | | Keith