What are best practices for working with time zones and DST?

Working with time zones and Daylight Saving Time (DST) can be challenging. Here are some best practices to ensure your application handles time correctly:

  • Use UTC Internally: Store all time-related information in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to avoid confusion.
  • Time Zone Conversion: Convert time to the user's local time zone for display, using libraries that handle these conversions gracefully.
  • Utilize Libraries: Leverage established libraries for date and time manipulation, such as Joda-Time or the built-in java.time package in Java 8 and later.
  • Be Aware of DST Changes: Account for the local DST rules while converting time zones, ensuring that the transitions are handled correctly.
  • Test Across Zones: Regularly test your application across different time zones and during DST transitions to catch any potential issues.

Time Zones DST Java Date-Time Best Practices UTC Time Zone Conversion